Paper Shuriken
by Tanya Lilac
Summary: Tenten, having cut her hair against her mother's will, cannot touch anything with a blade for the next three months. Neji, sworn to secrecy, cannot mention his upcoming birthday. Trouble ensues, with lime sprinkles and NejiTen. Completed, with epilogue.
1. Paper Shuriken

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO : ( **

**E: Wow… It's definitely been a long time since I've looked at this chapter. Well, the aim is to try and get through this without altering too much (I've already failed), but adding a bit more substance to it and getting rid of overly tacky things. **

**So, basically… this would take place somewhere around a couple of days or so after the end of **_**Blossom**_

**Paper Shuriken**

**Chapter One**

Tenten sat in the middle of the park, ripping up squares of paper beneath the dappled shade of an old oak tree. She was eighteen years old and, for the first time in her life, she had not touched anything with a blade for more than a week.

"Hey, Tenten!" Sakura said perkily as she and Ino jogged past for the second time that day.

"Wait… you were sitting here before, doing the same thing." Ino turned around and walked up to the older kunoichi. "Has anything been happening?"

Tenten shrugged and threw more paper shuriken onto her accumulating pile. "Nothing much."

She didn't even look up, but her fingers tensed and shook.

Ino shrugged and returned to her jog with Sakura as they gossiped about various things. Sasuke was a common topic; there seemed to be nothing that he could do that could go unnoticed.

Neji was the fifth to come and see her that day, and only at Hinata's behest, because Neji was the only one Tenten would ever 'listen' to, in her words.

The clouds above were looking ominously grey but Tenten took no heed to the sky; her attention was all focused on the tiny paper stars… just poor imitations of the many weapons that she had taken for granted.

"Tenten?" Neji put down his umbrella as he sat beside her within the roots of the ancient tree.

"Neji," Tenten replied somberly.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No," she replied curtly, not looking up once again. She was getting sick of these people pestering her. "Of course not."

"You're lying." He said with a humorous inflection in his voice. "Don't make me have to torture you to make you tell the truth."

"You'd never do that," she snapped at him.

"Oh, well there are many forms of torture."

"Nothing's worse than my current one, so whatever you're going to say won't sway me." Her voice was clipped and she paused to crack her knuckles before reaching for another square of black paper.

"Tenten."

It was never just a statement when he said it like _that_. It was a command; one that she could never disobey. Her fingers, numbing with the cold, stilled.

"Look at me." She looked up, her fringe partially obscuring her left eye. She made no move to flick it out of the way.

Neji did it for her instead, tucking the long bangs behind her ear. They didn't speak for a long time, because he already knew what was happening. If he hadn't, he would have already asked her why she hadn't turned up at training exactly twelve hours and twenty three minutes ago.

"Why?" His voice was quiet when he spoke to her.

A small smile lit up her face.

"I cut my hair. My mother didn't take it very well because she still sees me as her 'darling baby girl'."

Reaching behind her head, she removed the pen that bound her hair in a tight bun. Her locks, once long and flowing past her waist, had been roughly cropped about a hand's width below her shoulder.

Neji smirked.

"Your punishment?"

"I can't touch anything with a blade for the next three months." Her face sobered.

"I went by your house, actually. She was still moving crates into the shed. I offered to help, but she was _convinced_ that I already knew what had happened and that you'd sent me just to steal your weapons back."

"The shed _leaks_, Neji." Tenten shuddered. "It's damp in there. They'll just rust, sitting there without someone to sharpen and polish them."

Neji, at not knowing what to say, remained silent.

"I want to go home," she said suddenly, packing all of her shuriken into her bag.

Neji opened his umbrella to shield them against the raindrops and they walked back to her house.

Tenten fiddled with the last three shuriken she had made, flipping them constantly between her calloused fingers.

"You don't need to have your weapons to train," Neji said quietly, when they stopped in front of her door.

"I know."

"Just come and see me when you're ready."

"I will." Tenten's voice was empty and toneless as she continued to stare at the dull mimics of shiny steel that she already missed the feel of.

She grabbed his wrist and pressed the black stars into his palm. Finally, she met his eyes.

"Goodnight, Neji."

Without waiting for a response, she unlocked her front door and slipped quietly inside, into the warmth of her home.

The Hyuuga sighed and slipped the shuriken into his pockets.

"Goodnight, Tenten."


	2. Truly Deprived

**Paper Shuriken **

**Chapter Two: Truly Deprived**

Tenten paced impatiently, back and forth, in the courtyard. Her footsteps were quiet and swift in the morning fog. She counted down from three and, not waiting an instant longer, sprung lightly up onto the floorboards and made her way to Neji's room.

"Alright, get _up _already!" Tenten snapped, opening the door with a sharp snap.

Neji sat on his bed, shirtless and meditating.

"You're early."

"I know." Tenten growled, marching up to him. "Get dressed; I want to start training now."

"The world doesn't revolve around _you_, you know." Neji retorted, opening one eye as Tenten began to rummage through his drawers for a shirt.

"I always have to train when you want me to. And now, it's your turn to be hauled around at someone else's whim." Tenten found his shirt and turned around, only to crash solidly into the Hyuuga.

"Ouch."

"I'd say that, but it would detract from my manliness." Neji smirked as he plucked the shirt from her fingers.

"Right. I forgot about your metrosexual manliness." Tenten muttered as he got dressed.

"I heard that!"

"Yeah, so did everyone else." It was the kunoichi's turn to smirk as she left his room.

Neji jogged to catch up with her, and walked alongside her for a few minutes, in silence.

"Something's different today." His remark was met with silence. Tenten was six weeks through her deprivation sentence and she had been, of late, falling into more of a melancholy mood (emphasis on _mood_) with every day that passed. Being a weapons expert without weapons was a sacrilegiously inhumane punishment, in Tenten's eyes. She had thought that she would be content with her increasing skills in Taijutsu, but it was no longer the case, especially today.

"My mother saw fit to make me stop making the paper shuriken." She replied sardonically. "She also tried to direct my interest in paper folding to something more elegant such as folding cranes, but it failed." Tenten's features were haunted, for a split second, by a ghost of a smile.

"Ahh, I see." Neji smirked. "It's family trouble."

"It's not only that, Neji, and you know it!" Tenten snapped at him. "It's a part of it, but it's not everything that I'm worrying about right now."

"Security anxiety, then?" Neji inclined his head as he gazed with a quizzical amusement at her dark expression.

"You're too smart for your own good, sometimes, Hyuuga."

"Ahh, well the title of 'Rookie Prodigy' does have its shortcomings."

"You really don't understand, do you?" Tenten turned to him, frustrated. "You… you don't even use _weapons_! My life is my weapons and I have nothing if I don't have a blade in my hands! Just…"

She groaned, seeing his blank face. They stopped walking entirely as she began to think of a better explanation. Her eyes took in the almost surreal mist that surrounded them. Her lungs took in the chilled air and she exhaled a small cloud of steam. She could taste the mist in her mouth, and smell the dewy grass.

"Just imagine, for a split second, that in some freak accident, you lost everything that made you who you were, or your arms and legs had to get amputated or you lost your eyes and everything that made you a Hyuuga. That is how I feel right now."

"Well, I do have my arms, legs and eyes. And so do you. You've been coping just fine with replacing weapons cleaning and training with Taijutsu and, trust me; you'll thank me for it in the long run."

"You really need to stop flattering yourself," she snapped.

"You say that a lot of the time," Neji replied, unfazed.

"Maybe if I say it enough, you might listen to it once."

"I doubt it."

He turned swiftly and began to walk in a different direction.

"Where are you going?" Tenten asked, puzzled. She had to walk a bit faster to keep up with him, now.

"To train- where else?" Neji turned around and smirked in that way that he _knew_ would push all of Tenten's buttons.

"But this is the wrong way." Tenten said. "Our training grounds are in the other direction."

"No- _you're _going the wrong way," Neji retorted, and jumped up into the oak tree, and disappeared into the silent and foggy forest. Tenten, as always, had no choice but to follow him. So much for making the day revolve around what she wanted. Somehow, Neji would always twist things around so that everything always came back to him.

**E: This is going downhill, rather quickly. -cringe-**


	3. Invited

**E: Wow, I never realized how **_**bad**_** this was. **

**Paper Shuriken**

**Chapter Three: Invited**

Tenten sat back against the tree, sipping slowly at her small canteen. Neji sat opposite her, mirroring her actions with a meticulous care she could never really make sense of. It was just one of those things… Hyuuga Neji; a prodigy, a teammate, an obsessive compulsive teen who acted years beyond his age. But then again, all people scarred by tragedy- especially shinobi- were like that.

She looked around out of interest- they were in some obscure part of the forest- one that would be popular if it had not been so hard to access. She considered it to be one of Konoha's best secret locations. The water was cool and clear, and surrounded by tall, sturdy trees that bore no scars of fighting and never would, she hoped.

Neji had taken her here to better hone her chakra control. With its cool, clear lake and leafy trees, they could quickly flit from water to wood with a chakra fuelled jump. With her lack of weapons, the trees had remained unscarred by metal, and at her behest, Neji avoided smashing them to splinters 'just for the sake of it'. He had complied, but hadn't stopped mocking her about being more of a 'hippie' than she cared to admit.

Turning her attention back to the task- training- the kunoichi slipped out of her shoes and moulded her chakra to her feet. There were new rules that governed Tenten and Neji's training regime- Jyuuken and Kaiten were definitely _not _on, as Tenten no longer had any weapons to counteract those kinds of things, so their spars consisted of just taijutsu techniques other than, obviously, Jyuuken. The kunoichi had readily adapted, and her slimmer build made her faster and more agile- she could easily dodge any blow.

Hours later, an utterly exhausted Tenten felt the chakra fade away from her feet and she fell into the icy water with a splash. Shocked, Tenten's body tried to take in a breath- but her lungs filled with water. The muscles in her body burned and tore as she struggled to pull herself up, but to no avail.

Neji sighed, muttering a low, "Typical," before diving in after her, and pulled her up onto the bank.

Tenten rolled onto her back, coughing. Her vision was blurring and spinning at the same time, her heart was pounding and adrenaline was pumping through her system, erasing all of her tiredness.

"You know, you're really heavy." Neji remarked as he squeezed water out of his hair. He made no move to help her, or rub her back as she coughed up water. "Oh, and you're welcome, by the way," he said after a few moments.

"Thanks," Tenten replied through chattering teeth. When she was breathing normally again, the kunoichi sulkily marvelled at how he seemed so unaffected by the water. She, on the other hand, looked like a drowned rat. Her eyes were still a little pink, her skin was a bit blotchy like she'd been crying, and her hair hung in jagged twists down her back.

Neji smirked and threw her bag at her- he noted that it was lighter than usual, and probably only contained her jacket, bandages, a bottle of water, her wallet, keys and maybe some old bobby pins or hair bands.

The kunoichi sighed, tied up her hair into a tight bun and pulled her jacket on.

"You need to fix your hair."

"What?" Tenten was puzzled. She didn't care about her own hair half as much as Neji did.

"When your hair is wet, you can see the jagged ends- it becomes more obvious once your hair grows out."

"What are you going to do about it? Cut it for me?" Tenten asked sarcastically.

"Yes. I think so." Neji turned and walked back through the sparse undergrowth and moist leaf litter.

Tenten sighed yet again and followed him back to the Hyuuga compound.

The kunoichi had discovered years ago that there was no point in even trying to sneak into the Hyuuga household, and that it was less painful and embarrassing to just walk through the front door. Of course, back then, she'd been sleepwalking and had still managed to take down the stationed guards in the course of fourteen minutes.

A few minutes later, Tenten was rethinking her previous thoughts. It was a lot more embarrassing walking through the front doors of the Hyuuga compound, soaking wet, with messy hair- and Neji in almost the same state. Sneaking in would have been a more appealing option.

She couldn't meet the stares of the white eyed family- it unnerved her much more than Neji's full-force glare because of the sheer numbers. Her appearance- or maybe Neji's- was drawing stares, smiles, frowns, smirks, barely concealed laughter and outright contempt. All of the cold left Tenten's body, replaced by a scorching heat that made her skin glow rosily.

A few minutes later, Neji slid open the door to his bedroom and let Tenten inside first before shutting it with a soft click.

Tenten looked around- nothing had really changed since the last time she had been here- it was just a bit more scrupulous, if such a thing was possible with Hyuuga Neji. To her surprise, a sparsely patterned indigo yukata with white trimmings and an obi had been left on the corner of Neji's bed, neatly folded and stiff with starch.

"It seems that you've been invited to stay for dinner," Neji said wryly.

"Right," Tenten said, suddenly unsure.

Neji smirked. "It's Hiashi's work, actually. I wouldn't worry too much."

"I wasn't." Tenten replied automatically. "Hey… Neji?"

The Hyuuga turned around.

"Thanks for not letting me drown."

"If you keep falling into black moods, I just might walk away."

Tenten snorted. "If I thought like that, then you'd probably be dead by now."

"Exactly. That's why I got into ANBU before you."

A few minutes later, Tenten sat on a stool in front of the spotless mirror, garbed in a white robe she'd been instructed to wear by Neji. Speaking of which, her team mate was now trimming the edges of her hair with that insanely meticulous care, and Tenten kept her posture straight and just stared at their reflection in the mirror. Tenten watched as the tendrils of hair fell to the ground and then into her lap. She chewed her lip as her new fringe swept across her rounded cheekbones, as light as a feather.

"You know, I think you could have been a gay hairdresser in a past life."

"Don't be ridiculous," Neji snapped. "There weren't such things as gays before."

"You're so stupid, sometimes." Tenten laughed.

There was a timid knock on the door, and a servant garbed in a brown robe appeared in the doorway.

"Master, Mistress-"

"It's Tenten," Tenten corrected at the same time Neji said, "Yes?"

The servant glanced nervously from side to side.

"Hiashi-sama… said that dinner will be served half an hour later than usual."

Neji nodded, and the servant turned and vanished.

Tenten blow dried her hair, and left the bathroom, leaving Neji to shower.

"Um… hello?" Tenten asked, looking at the silhouetted figure in Neji's bedroom. Her body tensed in anticipation and her hands clenched into fists. The maid turned and switched on the lights.

"Right- Tenten, is it?" she said in a cheery voice.

"That's me…" Tenten replied, still unsure of this stranger.

"These are for you…" the woman handed Tenten undergarments. Tenten looked at them, and then at the woman.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she demanded in a motherly fashion. "Get changed, for Kami-sama's sake!"

Tenten blushed and turned around, and pulled on the garments beneath the robe. She turned around, and the maid began to dress her in the yukata- firmly, but not ungently.

A while later, she was done, with the cream coloured obi tied in a complex manner, and her brushed and left to flow free. Tenten sighed, and the maid left with an all knowing smile, wink and tap on the side of her nose. The kunoichi rolled her eyes and Neji's bathroom door opened with a quiet creak.

Tenten turned around. Neji was dressed in blue, with his usual white bandages to cover his curse seal. He was no longer as self conscious of it as he had once been, but it was more like a hidden toothache- a dulled pain that flared up every now and again when probed.

"Are you ready?" Neji asked, coming up beside her.

"Yeah." She smiled. "Your maid is crazy."

"What maid?"

"Never mind." Tenten averted her gaze and they left his softly lit bedroom.

The corridors were dimly lit, with doors opening and closing every now and then, painting bright splashes of light across the hardwood boards. Some sneaked looks their way, but the pair was ignored for the most part.

"Hey Neji, what do I do?" Tenten asked him. "Dinner at home is usually just me and my mother, and we sit at our bench, in pyjamas."

Neji rolled his eyes.

"No one's really going to care. Just act normally and don't be too much of an embarrassment."

"I'm an embarrassment?" Tenten asked, her eyebrow arched and a deadly glint in her eye.

"Sometimes, yes."

It was the truth, but it didn't stop her from wanting to shove him into one of the many rooms, lock the door and run away to destroy his room. Which, of course, she had never done to anyone… except for –

"Tenten." Neji's voice was warm, with a lilt of amusement. "We're here."


	4. The Gift

**E: I have a feeling I'm never going to be happy with this one. It'll always be too cliché for my liking. **

**Paper Shuriken**

**Chapter Four: The Gift**

Dinner happened to be a harrowing experience for the kunoichi. It comprised of quiet words and stares directed at the food and the floor by Tenten, and stares at Tenten by the other occupants. With the exclusion of Hinata, Hanabi, Neji and Hiashi. As usual.

"So, Tenten," Hiashi said warmly like he was used to seeing her at his dinner table everyday- something that he certainly was not. "How have you been over these past few months? No one's seen you around in quite a while."

This display of… apparent warmth and candour was somewhat startling to the occupants of the room. Tenten looked up, stilling her fingers from their spinning. It felt good to hold the smooth, cold metal.

"I've been fine, thanks." She said coolly. Maybe he knew about her whole 'weapon-less weapons expert' situation from Neji. She hoped not. "And you, Hiashi-san?"

"Fine," he replied. "Although it has been rather busy around the house with a few things to do before Neji's birthday."

"Neji's birthday?" Tenten echoed. Neji's birthday wasn't for another six weeks.

"Could we please talk about something other than my birthday?" Neji said pointedly, and Hinata began another conversation.

"Well, today, Hanabi and I…" the words faded out of Tenten's hearing as she glanced sharply at Neji. His eyes were as sharp and cold as ice, and when he caught her gaze, she held it unflinchingly before something else caught her attention. It was only for a split second, but it was enough for Neji to smirk and mutter, "You're not as good as you used to be." A pause. "Or are you just pretending?"

"You're getting old, Neji," Tenten teased. "You just didn't want to talk about your birthday because you don't want to acknowledge the fact that you're going to have to be more mature, now."

It was an arrow- or kunai, rather- in the dark. Neji's jaw tightened and he looked away, concentrating whole heartedly on staring at his plate. Tenten just rolled her eyes in response, and began a conversation with Hanabi.

"Have you tried Training Area 67? I swear; I spent the next few weeks after our team went through it laughing at Neji."

Hanabi looked at both Neji and his team mate in a different light from that day on. She also took every advantage possible to tease him about that certain _incident_ where he had just _happened_ to be stung by a strange beetle, resulting in large pus-filled boils in rather uncomfortable places. Hanabi liked to call it 'Fate'.

----x----

After their meal, Neji took Tenten for a long, winding walk through the house. There wasn't really much to do, but they just enjoyed the other's company.

"So what's wrong with talking about your 18th birthday, Neji?" Tenten asked softly.

Neji grunted in a non-committed fashion.

"Why?" Tenten demanded, rather irritated. "I always tell you about the stuff happening in my life-"

"That's because you were forced to," Neji interjected.

"And you never returned the favour, even when I didn't _have_ to tell you everything," she said, stopping. "So spill what's happening about your birthday." She placed one hand on her hip, and cocked her head to the side, her newly cut fringe sweeping to one side of her face, revealing her almond shaped eyes.

Neji met her eyes, with a cold stare in his own. She didn't flinch, and they remained in that way for a while.

"Neji," Tenten sighed, exceedingly frustrated, breaking away first as she had before. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Just have your wicked way with him, and be done with it already. Everyone knows you want to!" there was a high pitched giggle, and Tenten turned around.

"Hinata-sama, Hanabi-sama." Neji greeted with a bow, and they smiled back, Hanabi still restraining her laughs. Tenten raised an eyebrow at the younger Hyuuga. She was now around twelve, the kunoichi guessed. They all decided to ignore the comment Hanabi had made earlier.

"So… what's the time?" Tenten asked to fill the silence.

"It's quarter to eleven." Hanabi answered.

Tenten bit her lip. It seemed to be developing into a habit. Habits were dangerous for shinobi.

"Stay here, for the night." Hinata said suddenly, earning herself a similar cold stare from Neji. Luckily for her, she was very immune to its effects- living with Hiashi had steeled her nerves, once she had gotten over his sometimes cruel harshness. He had changed, in his own way, for the better.

"Sorry?" the weapons expert replied, frowning.

"Stay here, for the night." Hinata repeated. "I know what's been happening between you and your mother- it seems like it's too late for you to go home, and your clothes are still here, besides. A night away from the tension will do you some good, Tenten, I think." Hinata prompted.

"I don't know…" Tenten said doubtfully. "But…" the weapons specialist turned back to Neji, who seemed to have no objections, much to his cousins' delight. They ran off into the dim corridors and slipped away, silent as… shinobi. Typically.

"But what?" Neji asked quizzically.

"But where will I sleep?" Tenten asked, cocking her head to the side once again, and there was a definite tug in Neji's heart as he met her eyes.

"You need to stop doing that," Neji muttered.

"Doing what?"

"That puppy eyed look of yours. It gets on my nerves." He crossed his arms.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Neji continued to think. There was no way he'd let anyone of his friends stay in the draughty, dusty and empty guest wing (let alone Tenten), and there was no way that she'd want anyone going through the "trouble" of preparing a room for her.

"The guest wing," he said slowly, as if contemplating his words.

"No- I don't want to cause any trouble…"

"No- it's fine, I insist."

"_No _– _I _insist- I am the guest after all," she reasoned. "I'm _your_ guest."

Neji smirked. She was beginning to remind him of Hanabi- very forceful and stubborn when she needed to be.

"Well, I guess you are." He said. His eyes were still troubled, however, and Tenten could not help but wonder about his birthday- and why he was so unwilling to talk about it.

"Hey… Neji…" Tenten said later, once they were back in his room. Neji was looking for his sleeping roll that he took on missions. Tenten eyed it warily from her perch on his bed.

"If that's what you're sleeping on, then don't." Tenten said firmly. "No one will sleep on that tonight. I am not going to force you out of your bed."

"And I'm not going to shove you away in some cold corner of the guest wing." Neji returned.

"Just shut up." Tenten snapped. "Your bed is big enough for the both of us."

"What?" Neji asked, unsure of what he'd heard.

"You heard me correctly." Tenten said flatly, looking pointedly at the pillows.

"Fine then," Neji shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. Really, it wasn't meant to be- they'd been forced to share sleeping space before. Shinobi lived hard lives, and they'd both lived through more perilous and embarrassing situations.

"I need my toothbrush," Tenten said suddenly remembering. "And pyjamas."

Neji waved his hand nonchalantly.

"There should be some things in the bathroom. Help yourself to them." he offered, and left the room.

Tenten frowned and complied, brushing her teeth and changing out of the kimono, into shorts and a singlet top- both items black. When Neji returned, she asked him what to do with the navy yukata and cream coloured obi.

"Keep it," he replied. "Your clothes will be ready tomorrow morning, and the kimono was new- and for you to wear and keep."

"Thank you," she mumbled, blushing.

Neji frowned. "Are you okay? You look a little flushed… do you have a fever?" the Hyuuga asked, staring at her forehead. He had developed a habit over the years- and had something against physical contact when it came to her… except when slightly drunk, or when she was distraught.

"No, I'm fine." She shook her head slightly.

Neji turned back to his drawers, when Tenten asked him a question he had told her not to ask him.

"Can I see… your armoury?"

"We've been over this before- you told me not to take you there, or show you anything with a blade until your three months was over."

"But-"

"No buts!" Neji snapped, and Tenten flinched. "You're behaving like a child." His eyes narrowed, as did Tenten's.

"Oh, I'm acting like a child, am I? You're the one jealously guarding the secret of your birthday from me! I thought we were closer than that," she said, disgusted. "There is no one else in this world that I trust more with my own secrets, and my _life_, than you, Neji. I've told you everything that has happened to me since Dai's parents were murdered, and you've repaid me by-"

"Saving your life countless times when you couldn't have done so yourself," Neji finished for her.

Tenten took a breath and decided against whatever it was she was going to say.

"Fine, whatever." She shut her mouth and turned away from him. She pulled back the sheets on the left side of the bed and crawled beneath them, dragging the blanket from the right side onto hers. Neji lifted his hand to object, but decided against it as she rolled over, turning her back to him. He shrugged, brushed his teeth and changed.

The kunoichi breathed in deeply, and all she could smell was Neji- his scent was on the pillows and in the sheets, and she drifted on the edge of sleep. The Hyuuga came out of the bathroom and gingerly sat on the bed, and the sound of the thunder filled the room, along with their quiet breaths.

He was watching her face intently, his muscles tensed and his own face set. Mentally rolling her eyes, the kunoichi sighed and rolled back over, still keeping the entire blanket for herself. After a few more tense minutes of watching the chakra flow to her head, Neji reached for the corner of the thick, navy fabric, and Tenten's hand grabbed at his wrist.

He smirked. "You've gotten better at changing your chakra flow."

Tenten yawned. "It doesn't mean that I don't feel its effects." She sat up and tugged on his arm, jerking him closer to her.

"Why won't you tell me about your birthday?" Tenten asked in a fierce whisper. Her grip on his wrist hardened, and Neji sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I'm not going to tell you, no matter what you try, before the day."

"But you know already!" Tenten protested.

"Why can't you accept the fact that I cannot tell you anything?"

Something in her eyes changed, and her posture relaxed as she inched closer to him. "Would it just be so hard to let it… slip?" she asked huskily, tracing her fingertips up Neji's arm, and onto his smooth, bared chest.

Neji rolled his eyes another time, although his heart rate increased.

"You can't get it from me like that," the Hyuuga replied stoically.

"Well, how about I just keep trying, and see what happens from there?" Tenten asked, moving closer still. "Well? Have you got nothing to say for yourself?" Tenten fluttered her eyelashes, and Neji noticed the sooty curves on her cheeks. He had forgotten how well she'd always been in seducing and luring targets. They hadn't been on one of those missions in a while.

"Tenten," Neji commanded, his voice steadier than he felt. "Stop it. You don't want this."

Neji slapped her hand away from his chest, grabbing her wrist. He pinned her against the pillows, but her grip on his wrist didn't relinquish. Her nails were biting into his soft, paled skin. Her eyes blazed with anger but an underlying fear dilated her pupils. He could smell her sweat and feel her quickening pulse beneath his thumb.

They had been here before, years ago, in a different place and a different time. They had been younger, almost deluded by half-lust and it had been for the sake of pretence… and a mission. But she had not been scared then. She had not been scared of her own weakness and of Neji's strength and power over her. They had thought that they had wanted…

"This is not a game." He said coldly, harshly. "I will tell you, on the day of my birthday- and you'll see for yourself," he added bitterly.

"Neji…" she began to plead, but then changed her tactic. Wrenching her hand out of his, and releasing her grip on his hand, she shoved him off her and allowed him to claim the other half of the blanket, still warmed by her skin.

After around an hour, it seemed like they'd both fallen asleep, but Tenten lay awake listening to the sounds of the storm, and it seemed like the silence between them was almost as charged as the lightning outside.

"Neji… why did you bring me here?" Tenten asked, her voice sleepily husky. She turned over to face her team mate.

Neji glanced at the wall over her shoulders.

"Because… I wanted to." He replied simply.

"Why? Because you wanted to what?" Tenten prompted, confused.

"Because I know that things with your mother have never been what the both of you have expected. You both needed a break from it, for at least one night."

Tenten smiled, subconsciously rubbing her wrist. "How considerate," she replied dryly.

"Tenten, can I ask you something?" Neji asked softly.

"Well, that depends…" she replied warily. "… On whether or not you can tell me about your birthday."

"Tenten, I can't." Neji confessed. "I can't tell anyone about what's happening. I don't know why Hiashi-sama mentioned it…"

"Well, fine then." Tenten said crossly. "What was it you wanted to ask me?"

"It's nothing… don't worry." Neji said dismissively.

"No- it was something- you wouldn't have brought it up otherwise." Tenten stood up and left the lovely warm bed. It was lovely for other reasons, too, but being Tenten, she could hardly stand the thought- and almost gagged at the thought.

"What are you doing?" Neji demanded. He, too, left the bed and came to stand in front of her.

"I'm not going to move until you tell me what it was you wanted to ask me." The kunoichi said, defiance in every line of her body.

Neji placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Tenten," he said wearily. Then, something in his eyes changed- and the kunoichi saw it, too, not recognising it for what it was. "Tenten…" he said huskily, and the said weapons expert felt her bones turn to water. His hands seemed to spread an unreal tingle through her limbs.

"Tenten… do you have any idea…" Neji said softly by her ear, and delightful shivers made their way down her spine. The kunoichi shivered and involuntarily took a step closer to him. "How much…"

Tenten met his eyes, the sound of the storm fading away, replaced only by the rapid pounding of her heart. He moved closer to her, his lips grazing the skin on her neck. In a swift movement, Tenten was swept off her feet and almost thrown onto the bed. The kunoichi began to glower at the smug Hyuuga, who stood, smirking down at her, but her fingers closed on the pillow, and she threw it at his head.

"…Of a fool you are!" Neji said, after catching the pillow, and swinging it up in defence as the weapons expert grabbed the other cushion and swung it at him in a smooth arc.

It was the beginnings of a pillow fight of most historic and childish proportions, Neji's actions spurred on by some feeling he couldn't comprehend; Tenten's by indignation, and then for the pure joy and exhilaration it brought.

The shinobi managed to find themselves on top of the bed sheets, on the floor (Tenten almost tripping over it), wrestling to some degree with the feathers falling through the air, the tattered rags that had once been pillows scattered on the carpet somewhere else.

The war ended mainly as their spars did- Neji was the victor, Tenten left, tired, panting and defeated. The diamond pendant of the necklace that Yori Misaki had crafted for her lay on her chest, glinting in the dim light from his lamp, rising and falling with her breaths. Her eyes shone feverishly bright, her cheeks pinked from exertion. Her wrists were captured at her sides beneath Neji's hands, her legs similarly pinned by Neji's weight.

The Hyuuga looked into her eyes, their bright allure proving hard to resist. Her lips, slightly parted, were rosy, like her cheeks, and her smooth, duskily golden skin was shiny with a light sheen of sweat. He leaned in, and Tenten, confused, blinked up into his eyes.

The door opened, and light flooded into the room. Outside, stood Hanabi, her hair comically mussed from sleep, her pyjamas – similar to Tenten's borrowed ones, but in purple (it seemed to be what everyone wore in Spring) - slightly askew.

"Some people are _trying_ to _sleep_!" she hissed furiously. "Be _quiet_! I _don't particularly care _about _what _you are even _doing _in here- but, for everyone's sakes- _keep the noise down!_" she didn't seem to care what she'd intruded on, and slammed the door shut.

Tenten blushed, and wrested her hand free, and pushed Neji off her.

"Well," she remarked. "I can tell she'd be a great librarian."

"Hanabi doesn't have a love of books- rather that of her beauty sleep." Neji replied dryly as he helped Tenten stand. The kunoichi accepted his hand, and flopped down on the bed. Neji picked up the sheet and threw it over her, and it fluttered down on top of her body, and joined her under the covers moments later.

"I think…" Tenten said, yawning. "I think I regret doing that now." She rolled over and looked at the Hyuuga, whose eyes were a myriad of subtle shades of silver and white, catching the moon.

"You just thought of that now?" Neji asked sarcastically.

"Mm… yeah…" the kunoichi replied dreamily, stretching out Neji's arm and resting her head on it.

"What are you doing?" Neji asked, looking down at the brunette.

"What does it look like?" she replied tartly. "I'm trying to get to sleep… now stop moving." She commanded, slinging her arm across his stomach, her hand resting on his thigh as she moved closer to him.

Neji moved his arm away, and Tenten raised her head.

"Where are you-?"

Neji did what had been denied of them earlier. He kissed her, once; their lips meeting with a kind of tentative innocence but lingering for moments; and allowed her to fall asleep on his arm once again. They had kissed each other before, but always in the heat of a moment- and never with sweetness. It was, the kunoichi thought, the best gift he'd ever given her.


	5. The Morning After

**E: It's still a little too out of character and angsty for my liking. **

**Paper Shuriken**

**Chapter Five: The Morning After**

Sunlight streamed through the eastern window and Neji woke wordlessly, staring with a small measure of wonder, at the young woman whose head lay on his chest. Her long eyelashes dark crescents above her lightly rosed cheeks, he knew, framed deep eyes, free of guile and full of mischief. The said brunette murmured softly, her lips moving as her splayed fingers trekked across the pale skin of his stomach, the tips of her fingers brushing the waistline of his shorts. He didn't laugh or shift uncomfortably- he wasn't ticklish at all, although he had a suspicion that the young woman might be.

Neji glanced over at the clock- it was way past when he'd normally wake up, due to the fact that he'd already be out of the house, training with the same person who lay so close to him.

The kunoichi sighed, completely at ease, and hugged her pillow tightly. It smelt deliciously like Neji, and … did she just think deliciously like Neji? And speaking of Neji… Neji was the thing she laid on top of, Neji's leg she had wrapped her own around… Neji's hands that rested in her hair and firmly upon her hip.

Tenten lifted her head, and looked at Neji, who appeared to still be sleeping, and blinked, three times, slowly. After a few moments, she sighed, and rested her head against Neji's chest once again, incredibly tired.

"I don't want to get up." she said to no one in particular. . "I am so…" she yawned, quite adorably, Neji thought, "_sleepy._"

"Well you're going to have to." Neji replied, smirking without opening his eyes.

"What if I don't want to?" Tenten pouted, with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

"Well you're going to have to…" Neji said, sliding out of the bed. Tenten latched her arms firmly onto his waist, and smiled as he half pulled her out of the bed. One side of his attire had been slightly dragged down by her hands and she burst into laughter.

The door opened silently, and Hiashi stood in the doorway. Tenten pulled herself back, kneeling demurely on top of the still rumpled bedclothes, with her hands in her lap. Her bed hair and half-on-half-off pyjamas ruined the desired effect.

"Good morning, Hiashi-sama," she murmured quietly. Neji was almost surprised at the coyness in her voice. Almost.

"Hiashi-sama," Neji bowed, hastily correcting the waistband of his pants. Hiashi nodded, inspecting the room. The pillow fragments were gone, Neji noted, and the silence built until it was unbearably thick.

"I trust…" Hiashi paused to look at Tenten and Neji in the eye. "That you slept well?"

His question was met with a stunned silence.

"Breakfast is served in half an hour." He continued, as if his question had been answered. "I trust that you'll be ready then?" he asked, turning back the kunoichi.

"Yes," Neji replied woodenly, and Hiashi turned and left, shutting the door behind him once again.

Tenten exhaled in relief.

"Wow," she said casually, falling back onto the bed sheets. "That was rather mortifying."

"You think so, too?" Neji relied sarcastically.

"What happens now?" Tenten asked.

"You get dressed, and then go and have breakfast." He looked in the bathroom. "I wouldn't know if your clothes are ready yet. If not, you could see if you could borrow some of Hinata-sama's clothes."

As if on cue, the said Hyuuga entered Neji's room without knocking, with Tenten's clothes in her arms, and Hanabi in her wake.

"Good morning, Neji-nii-san!" Hinata trilled with a smile. "Good morning, Tenten," she added with a sly look in her eyes. It seemed rather… fox like, and the kunoichi wondered what other effects Naruto was having on his girlfriend.

"Ohayo Hinata-sama, Hanabi-sama." Neji greeted, bowing, and left them to their own devices as he changed in the bathroom.

"Hey Tenten," Hanabi greeted.

"Salutations," Tenten said wearily, flopping back onto the bed. "I'm so tired…" she yawned again and curled up on top of the sheets. Suddenly, she couldn't help but think about was Hanabi's interruption last night. Neither could she.

"So… what were you and Neji-nii-san doing up so late last night?" Hanabi asked with a sly smile.

Tenten blushed and sat up.

"You heard that?"

"Tenten, privacy does not exist in this household. We have all learned to endure and ignore to create some illusion of it." Hinata answered.

"It was a pillow fight!" Tenten tried to defend her pride, but failed when her voice squeaked. She didn't know why, though- that was all it had been… apart from the kiss. She brushed her fingers over her lips dreamily, and the sisters exchanged a glance.

"It… sounded like a whole lot more than that, Tenten." Hanabi retorted with a satisfied smirk on her face. "And your hair and clothes don't really do you any justice."

"Did it really sound that bad- do I really _look _that bad? Your dad just came in!" Tenten said- her shock evident on her face. She flopped back on the bed again, but the two girls grabbed her hand, and pulled her into a standing position.

"Okay, put these on!" Hinata ordered, pushing Tenten's belongings into her arms. Hanabi's nimble fingers gently combed Tenten's hair and tied her locks into a loose knot.

"Thank you," Tenten said, turning to face them.

"Whatever," Hanabi answered brusquely. "Go take a walk with him- he's in the hallway, and breakfast starts in twenty minutes."

They left her alone in the room and Tenten made to follow them when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She was definitely a far cry from the drowned rat that had entered the room yesterday. The kunoichi smiled lightly, and left the room, shutting the door silently behind her once again.

True to what his cousins had said, Neji was waiting patiently in the corridor, and upon seeing her, he smirked. She fell in beside him, and they began to walk slowly again.

"You know, I think I have discovered something about you." Neji said after a while.

"Really? What would that be?" Tenten asked, smiling.

"I have discovered that you are, without a doubt, one of the strangest girls I have ever met."

"Thanks for the compliment, Neji." Tenten replied sarcastically.

"You do not really understand what I'm trying to say."

"You do not really think about what you say before it comes out of your mouth. That and – you have never really talked with girls before, have you?" Tenten replied tartly, holding her head high. "Any female you address as 'sama' doesn't count. And we all know Chiyo was a nutcase."

Chiyo was another unfortunate sore spot.

"Let me… justify what I've said. I am finding you hard to understand, even after… what is it now, seven… six years?"

"I thought it was five." Tenten said crossly.

"Okay, five years, then," Neji said hastily. "You are very tactless. Your carefree manner seems to be what draws a lot of male attention towards you, but you never accept their praise. You know you look absolutely beautiful in a kimono but you hardly wear anything beyond what you wear everyday, and you don't flaunt your hair by wearing it down. You-"

"You think I look beautiful?" Tenten stopped walking and looked at him intently.

"Well, what I …"

"Neji! There you are!"

They turned around at the sound of the voice, and Tenten fell silent, her eyes dropping to the floor. Neji tensed.

"How is my _favourite_ nephew?" crooned the woman, taking Neji into her arms. She pinched his cheeks and kissed them.

"I'm your _only _nephew, Aunty Haruka," mumbled the somewhat uncomfortable prodigy. Tenten hid her smirk beneath a cough.

"And who is your _delightful_ little… friend?" the woman called Haruka asked. Her voice was about as irritating as a parrot's squawk.

"This is my team mate, Tenten. Tenten, this is my Aunt Haruka." Neji introduced.

Haruka pinched Tenten's chin and jerked her face up to meet her eyes. Tenten noted that she even looked quite aquiline, with a large hooked nose and small round eyes that seemed shrewd and scrutinising. Her face had been powdered into perfection, ruined by crimson rouge that clashed with her deeper, scarlet lipstick. A cloud of perfume seemed to hang around her, sickly sweet and cloying.

"Ugly brown eyes, I see – too ordinary… _terrible_ cheekbones and that _mouth_! Is _she _the one in your room last night? Well, she is _much _too plain for you- you're much better off with _my_ _daughter_…"

"Haruka, I think that is more than enough." Hiashi said quietly. The woman let go of Tenten's chin, and Tenten turned her face away, tasting her blood in her mouth. She'd bit her tongue to stop herself from saying anything rude. Neji took her fist in his hands and gently straightened her fingers. She relaxed, but snatched her hand away.

"Now, if you please, breakfast is starting soon." Hiashi said in the same, quiet authoritative voice. Tenten wondered if he was the same man who had warmly welcomed her to his table last night. "Tenten, if you please." He held out his arm, and Tenten shyly took it, glancing backwards at Neji, stuck with his horribly rude aunt who was waiting for him to do the same.

Breakfast, Tenten found, was a much milder affair. She sat at Neji's side once again, but did not look at him in the entire meal. Everyone ate silently, although the kunoichi did note the surreptitious glances she got from the other Hyuugas.

After breakfast, Tenten was found by Hinata, who had heard from Hanabi about her encounter with Haruka, nicknamed the Horrible, and had consoled her. Her bag had been brought to the heiress' room, and Tenten fixed her hair in only one bun again, and thanked Hinata for her help. The weapons expert sought out Hiashi, and thanked him for his gracious hospitality that she had imposed on for too long, and walked out of the Hyuuga household with a friendly wave to Hanabi.

On her way home, she did not make eye contact with Sakura or Ino, who saw her and tried to talk to her, but found that she had mysteriously disappeared in the crowd. Tenten, from her secluded spot in an alleyway, watched as they shrugged and walked on, becoming immersed in their shopping once again, and sighed with relief.

"Tenten," Neji said quietly.

"What are you doing here, Neji?" the kunoichi asked curtly.

"I should ask you the same question." Neji asked mildly, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm hiding from Sakura and Ino. And you?"

"I was looking for you."

"Well, you found me." Tenten said, tapping her foot.

"I was hoping to talk to you… in a more pleasant environment."

"You have five seconds to engage my attention."

"I'm sorry about my aunty… she-"

"Okay, time's up." Tenten said and turned away, walking back into the main street.

Neji followed her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me." Tenten said in a low, deadly tone, stopping and shrugging off his hand.

"Listen, I'm sorry- I should have said something-" Neji stopped talking when Tenten turned around.

"Neji… you know what? I don't want your apology. You are not the one who said all of those stupid things. You don't have to apologise for what _she_ did."

"Then why are you so angry?"

"I don't know. Just… leave me alone. I'm going home."

She walked away, and Neji said quietly, "Is it because you're scared?"

Tenten heard him and his words pierced her mind like a knife, but she kept walking, mechanically.

----x----

The kunoichi removed her necklace as she lay down on her bed, dangling the diamond lily between her fingers.

"_Is it because you're scared?"_

The effect that his words had on her brought her back to a different place. Yori Daichi, more childhood friend than sweetheart, had always seen her in a different light. He'd lived across the road with his parents- Misaki and Kiyoshi- jewellers who had given up their life of travelling to give their son a better chance to develop his skills as a shinobi. Of course, it had been the travelling that had killed Misaki and Kiyoshi in the end. On the way home from Suna, they had been attacked and ambushed by a group of mercenaries who had robbed what was left of their stock. Kiyoshi had been killed first; unaware of the danger, but Misaki had tried to fight back. Her spirit was rewarded with pain and spilt blood. As soon as he had heard, Daichi had left with one name in his head- Susumu Takeshi.

The last time she had felt as confused as she did now was in the aftermath of the murders of Yori Kiyoshi, the kind father figure who had taught her that there was more to metal than blades and songs of death, and Yori Misaki- the woman who had seen her as a daughter of her own heart, and whom Tenten had embraced like her mother. Neji had been the one to draw the darkness from her then, but it was different this time.

There was a soft knock on her door, and Tenten mumbled, "Come in."

Mai entered the room, and sat on the end of the bed, stroking Tenten's new fringe away from her forehead with her cool fingers.

"What happened?" she asked gently. "Where were you last night? Did you stay with a friend?"

"Hyuuga Neji- I stayed with him last night."

"You stayed with him last night." Mai repeated, frowning.

"No, nothing happened. It wasn't like that." Tenten said. "It's that just his relatives aren't… the friendliest of people."

"Tenten," Mai said with a sceptical look on her face. "You have never been affected by what people think about you- I know that for a fact."

"I know," she sighed, and began to consider using the hyperventilating exercises, as she had for many years, to get her mother's mind off the topic so she could slip out of the house later.

"Are you sure? You're not one to sulk, Tenten. What happened? Why won't you tell me?"

"Because," Tenten's voice hardened. "You took away everything that makes me who I am."

Mai looked away.

"_Things_ do not make you who you are, Tenten. People, experiences, and your past- they're all what truly shapes the person you are. You just don't understand. You may think that I'm just a scatterbrain, without any kind of hope as a kunoichi, but you did get your strong intuition from someone. As for your punishment, I don't care. If you believe that your weapons make you the person you are today, fine. I won't argue with you. Just don't come to see me when you need something. You're free to leave the house, but don't expect me to do anything for you."

She got off the bed and left Tenten's room without waiting for a response.

The kunoichi picked up her bag, and took out the yukata. Placing it upon her desk, she put her jacket, a change of clothes (just in case) and her wallet into her pack and climbed out her window. When she reached her training area fifteen minutes later, Neji was already there.

Neji understood and accepted her unspoken invitation, and took up his Jyuuken stance, Tenten took up her own and they fought.

Hours later, Tenten fell back on the forest floor, her eyes staring unseeingly at the stars. Her breathing was harsh, and she couldn't feel a single thing in her body. Her skin was raw and bruised. A warm wind blew its velvety caress through the tendrils of her hair, free of restraint.

"That was rather productive." She said cheerfully, feeling rather euphoric.

"That was rather stupid." Neji retorted. "You've been technically thrown out of your house by your mother, and you completely threw yourself at me to get hurt. You are, without a doubt, seriously screwed up."

"Oh, and strangely beautiful, too?" Tenten asked bitterly.

"Why are you doing this?" Neji asked, lying back also. She was silent for some time, thinking with her eyes shut to the world.

"Romance and love has never come into the question," Tenten murmured. "My dream in life was to become as strong and renowned as Tsunade-sama. There wasn't meant to be any room for boyfriends, crushes, marriage and kids, I think. It was just…" Tenten's voice faded away.

Neji scoffed. She was a completely different person to who she'd been this morning. The wind blew yet again, but it was colder.

"Think of it as withdrawal symptoms." Tenten laughed.

"How about we make a deal?" Neji suggested.

"Go on," Tenten prompted.

"If I enable your tenketsu again, you can't do stupid things like this again. Be more positive about things, because you only live once. You can't purposely hurt your mother, because I'm sure she's trying, and thinking that what she's doing is the right thing. And you have to try and solve this thing between you and her- I think some form of negotiation is in order. Compromise." Neji said.

"Who are you, my mother?" Tenten scoffed. The wind blew through her fringe, cooling her sweat. She spat out her metallic tasting blood onto the grass as she coughed.

"Well, I can leave you here to sleep on it." Neji said, moving away.

"Okay, fine." Tenten snapped. "I won't be mean to my mother, and I won't do stupid things like fight people for no reason. The negotiation and happy bit, I can't make guarantees."

"But will you try?"

"Yes. I will try, Mr Philosopher. Since when were our roles reversed?"

Neji smirked. "Since you met my Aunt Haruka."

Tenten laughed. "She reminds me of a parrot." The kunoichi sighed blissfully as the Hyuuga enabled the flow of the tenketsu on her right arm. She flexed and clenched her fingers several times.

"Really? She's famous for her sharp tongue."

"More like notorious for that beak-like nose… it looks so breakable." Tenten smiled, and her stomach rumbled.

"You could be concussed, with the way that you're talking." Neji smirked.

"I wouldn't be surprised, with the way that I fell to the ground. There could have been a rock right here!"

Neji placed his hand on her left thigh, and almost smirked when she yelped and twitched when the feeling returned to her leg from her knee up. He moved his hand down to behind her knee, placing her leg on his lap, and then gently rubbed and rotated her ankle.

He repeated the same process with her right leg, and helped her to stand, and supported her when she wobbled.

"So, where do you want to go?" Neji asked.

"Are you asking me out to dinner?"

"I guess so- unless you want to go home and eat."

"Ichiraku Ramen." Tenten said automatically.

Neji smirked as he bent over and threw Tenten her jacket. She gratefully put it on, and missed the more than slightly amused look on his face.


	6. Hearsay

**E: Why is it that I can only pick out the faults in my story?**** No more fan girls! **

**Paper Shuriken**

**Chapter Six: Hearsay**

Tenten tied her hair into a ponytail, and wrapped her jacket close to her body, checking that her wallet was still in her bag. Neji walked beside her, their steps slow and unhurried, as if they were still walking around in the Hyuuga estate.

There was a subtle tendril in the crowd that followed their movements- the pair seemed oblivious to it, Tenten focused on actually getting to eat something, Neji focused on a rapidly forming bruise on his forearm. Tenten's punch had more of a bite to it today.

They arrived at the Ichiraku Ramen stand, only to find that it was packed. The line extended up the hill and over onto the other side, and Ayame and her father looked very busy.

"Ayame!" Tenten called, and the older girl waved. The kunoichi slumped on the table in between a couple, and looked beseechingly at her. "Ayame… I haven't eaten for _twelve _hours… please…"

"Sorry, Tenten- I can't help you, really. Maybe next time, alright?" She winked at the younger girl and gestured at Neji.

Tenten growled, and stormed off.

"How about I save you the trouble of finding some clean place to eat," Neji suggested, "and I'll order something in at my house?"

"But… your family?" Tenten asked, but Neji had taken her by the elbow and was leading her to his house.

"They left at around midday."

"What? Why?"

"To visit Aunt Haruka at her house." Neji replied tonelessly.

"Why didn't you go with them?"

"I can't stand the woman. She may have changed over the years, but she always pinches my cheeks when I see her, as if I was still four."

Tenten giggled. "Yeah, I forgot about that." Tenten said as they walked into the empty house. There were no stares, no movements at all. Everything was dark, and quiet. Both Neji and Tenten paused to remove their shoes, and Neji locked the door firmly, shutting the several bolts and padlocks. It seemed very typical of a ninja family renowned for their amazing abilities of insight and pedantic nature, and one could never really be too safe.

"The kitchen is this way." Neji said, walking off.

"When is everyone coming back?"

"In a few days, I think- a week at the most."

"What do you do when they leave?"

"Stay at home, by myself- what else can I do?"

Neji and Tenten entered the kitchen, the Hyuuga turning on the lights. The telephone was hung up on the wall opposite the door.

"How long do you think it will take?" she asked, watching as Neji looked for a piece of paper.

"Go and take a nap for a while, or shower, or something- and I'll come and get you when the food gets here," Neji suggested, and Tenten shivered.

"Your house is too empty… and dark."

It was true. The wind blew through the open corridors like a lonely ghost, moaning balefully at the window framed moon. The floorboards were chilled, the doors were all shut and not a single lantern had been lit in the house.

"My room is just down that hallway." Neji pointed.

"Yeah," Tenten said sarcastically. "Just down that really long one in your really spookily empty house."

Neji didn't reply, so the kunoichi simply rolled her eyes and started walking on tiptoe, ready for anything. She looked out the windows, seeing only the garden lit by the full moon, and breathed slowly and calmly. A soft breeze caressed her skin, but Tenten didn't need to see the clouds to know that tonight would carry the promise of a storm. She could smell the heavy, musky scent upon the air that heralded rain, and feel an almost humid tension in the air.

Tenten stepped out of the shower minutes later, after gingerly soaping her skin, but left feeling rather invigorated. Outside, the storm had already begun to rage and she could hear the patter of rain upon the exposed walkways around the courtyard. She turned on Neji's bedside lamp as she lay down on top of the sheets, wearing the pair of forest green cotton shorts and black shirt that she had packed earlier. With a contented sigh, she fell back onto the soft pillows and drifted off to sleep within moments.

Neji walked into his room and smirked upon seeing Tenten sound asleep on his bed. The shorts exposed the contours of the muscles in her toned, long legs and her shirt clung to her form like a silhouette. With a sigh, the Hyuuga folded the blanket over her, ignoring the many thoughts of his team mate that came rushing through his mind.

"Tenten," Neji murmured later, shaking her shoulder. He ducked when Tenten took an instinctive swipe at his face, nails fully extended. It was a habit that she'd developed recently- he'd discovered it one morning when he'd tried to wake her after she'd been up all night on a mission. The gouge marks would have scarred if not for Hinata's ointments.

"Neji?" She looked down at him with a sleepy frown. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing much," he shrugged, standing up. "Are you ready for dinner?"

"I suppose so," she replied, battling the impending awkwardness.

The pair walked down the lit corridor in silence. There was a particularly bright flash of lightning and brilliantly deep roar of thunder and the lights above them fizzled out. After a minute or so, after the storm had moved on a bit, Neji tried to turn on the lights in the dining area, but failed. Tenten tried the switches in the hallway, but none of them worked either. Neji activated his Byakugan, but found no one around the premises.

"I think there are some candles in the kitchen," Neji said, and she followed him, not wanting to be left alone in the strangely blue room.

Soon, long white candles were found- they weren't really the thicker, more durable types Neji had hoped for, but they would pass. A candelabrum was also conveniently placed near the candles, and Tenten found the matches in a cupboard. Neji placed the candles on the spikes, and lit their way to the dining room, the shadows waving wildly in the flickering light.

The pair sat in a smaller dining area than Tenten had previously seen and they ate the meal that Neji had ordered. Tenten laughed.

"Neji, you read my mind." She broke the chopsticks and hungrily devoured the ramen.

"How often do you get blackouts?" Tenten asked after they'd finished eating. The dishes had been taken back, and they were now eating Neapolitan ice cream before it melted.

"Not that much, actually- I think this is the first."

Tenten rolled her eyes.

"You could have simplified that to 'never'." She said dryly.

Neji smirked and reached over, helping himself to some of the strawberry ice cream on the kunoichi's side.

"This reminds me of when Dai and I were younger," She began, and paused. "I'm sorry."

"I don't care," Neji replied. "You don't see me saying sorry when I talk about Chiyo."

"That's only because I never cared about Chiyo- you were the one who wanted to kill him when we were younger."

Neji smirked.

"That's only because he was so… _smug_ about you. Like he knew everything about me and how I felt about-" He stopped himself and looked away.

"Here." Tenten thrust her spoon of strawberry and chocolate ice cream in his face. "Have this."

"What? Why?"

"It'll make you feel better." She smiled. "You'll remember that it's all in the past... and you know what dwelling in the past does to you."

He leaned forward and ate the ice cream obediently.

"Better?"

"Not really. I don't like your philosophy towards life."

"Well, I don't particularly approve of yours, either." Tenten replied tartly, helping herself to more ice cream. "This is great ice cream, by the way. I haven't had any in ages."

"It's full fat. Hanabi and Hinata won't touch it."

Tenten shrugged. "Do you see me caring?"

They sat in silence for some time until Tenten cursed rather loudly.

"What?"

"I got ice cream on me. Do you have a tissue?" Tenten asked.

"Stop it," he said cryptically.

"Stop what?"

Neji did not answer her question. Instead, he leaned forward and kissed her. Her lips were warm and cold at the same time, tasting unsurprisingly of strawberry and chocolate ice cream. Tenten felt sparks ignite in her body, feeling Neji pull her into his arms, and their kiss intensified, Neji cupping her cheek gently with his hands while his other rested on the crook of her neck. He pulled away, and licked the ice cream off her inner arm, and trailed his kisses to her neck, frustrated that her shoulders had been covered. Tenten's nimble fingers intertwined with his hair and she pulled his lips back up to hers. Her heart beat was as erratic as his as his hands made their way to the planes of her flat stomach and the curve of her hip.

It was not enough for the both of them. It was never going to be enough, until… Either way, it never mattered. They didn't have a choice. They had _boundaries_… and this was one they couldn't cross, especially when it came to the two of them.

So, just as suddenly, he pulled away.

The kunoichi was breathing heavily as she looked up at him, his hair tangled and his skin flushed. His hands were still on her skin and she was still sitting on his lap. It was strange, really, how quickly it had all happened. Tenten draped her arms around his neck and rested her forehead on his shoulder.

"Why?" she asked him.

"Why what?" He asked, even though he knew exactly what she would say.

"Why now?" Her voice was a whisper against his skin. Her fingers had tugged and pawed desperately at his shirt, pulling the buttons open to reveal his shoulder. Every word was like a kiss from her lips. "We're not on a mission, we're not drunk, we're not upset… so why now? Why are you kissing me now?"

"Because I damn well want to," he growled before catching her lips again.

----x----

After a night of strange dreams, Tenten woke to an even stranger reality. In the night, she had somehow entangled her self in Neji's arms. That, or Neji had captured her in his embrace.

Whatever the reason, Tenten thought happily; she was quite content where she lay.

Tenten peeked from under her lashes, her eyes meeting only Neji's chest- he had slept shirtless. His arms were wrapped around her body, holding her securely in an entirely chaste manner- even in sleep; Neji remained a gentleman. He felt warm and human against her skin. And of course, he had human weaknesses.

She took note of where her own hands were- her left behind his neck, and her right on the small of his back, and she murmured as if asleep, sliding her right hand over his back. The kunoichi sensed that he was already awake and almost smiled when his lips brushed her forehead.

"Morning," he sighed.

"I seem to be getting this feeling of déjà vu." She smiled. "This seems to be happening far too much these days."

"What?"

"Waking up with you." She averted her eyes with a slight blush.

"Is it a bad thing?" Neji asked lazily, his hand sliding down her back to the hem of her shorts, his fingers brushing against her skin.

"Yes, because I need to get home!" Tenten sat up as she suddenly remembered.

"Do you really think that she'll care?" His fingers crept up her stomach.

"Stop that," Tenten snapped. Her voice lacked any kind of conviction. "You told me to 'patch things up' with her, right?"

Neji bit her neck lightly. "You stayed out all night. What's a few more hours going to do?" He softly kissed the mark he had made, and Tenten giggled.

"So what does this mean?" Tenten asked, sighing as his kisses sent sparks running up and down her skin.

"Hmm?"

"What are we?"

Neji drew away and looked down at her seriously. "Team mates and friends."

Tenten's eye twitched. "Team mates and friends," she repeated. "Then what are we doing here, now?"

"Hanging out, kissing… whatever you want to do," he murmured in response. Tenten's blood turned to ice.

"So that's all it is," she said, her voice stiff and injured.

He smirked against her skin. "We're shinobi. Any relationship that we have that goes beyond professional would be completely against protocol."

"Then why am I here?"

"Because you want to be here. Because I want you to be here." He kissed her again. "Don't worry about the details, because they're always too complicated."

He was being strange, Tenten noted. Her intuition was telling her to stop playing with the seductive fire, but her body craved more of it. She surrendered to Neji's caresses and kisses, telling herself that it all really meant nothing to the both of them … and failed.

----x----

An hour later, Tenten climbed back through her bedroom window. Mai opened her bedroom door at that instant and stared at her daughter.

"You were out all last night," she accused.

Tenten shrugged. There was no point in denial.

"You were with that boy?"

"And if I was?" Tenten replied coolly.

"You're in a lot of trouble." Mai's eyes were cold with anger.

"I've done nothing wrong." Tenten said quietly.

"Try telling that to Hyuuga Hiashi." Mai replied primly, and walked away.

Tenten stopped breathing for a full ten seconds.

"Hyuuga Hiashi. _Hyuuga Hiashi?!_" she screamed, running after her mother. "What does that even _mean_?"

"It means that as soon as I heard you leave your room, I sent a message to their property outside Konoha." Mai turned her attention back to her flower arrangement. Her hands still shook, however. "Pass the wire, dear."

Tenten frowned, her hands still at her sides. "What? _How_?"

"I went to see the Hokage. She's older than me and still wears a _ridiculous_ disguise."

Tenten's fists clenched, her short nails biting purple crescents into her skin.

"Anyway, I told her what you've been doing - sneaking around with that _boy_." She sniffed her disproval as she reached for the wire herself. "And that I have my concerns, as your mother. She told me that I could send a message using one of the birds."

Tenten was seeing spots on the wall as she stared right ahead, fuming. Her teeth were clenched together, fiercely holding back barbed retorts.

"So, this morning, I get a reply. Hyuuga Hiashi is returning to Konoha and has scheduled an appointment with you in… half an hour. I guess you shouldn't have left their house, should you?"


	7. Confrontation

**E: ****I must admit that I always took Hyuuga Hitomi for granted. She was always just a side character- the obstacle. Well, Quentin B Caulfield's **_**Sacrifice **_**changed that for me- and look out for Hitomi's VERY COOL appearance [re-characterised. **

**Paper Shuriken**

**Chapter Seven: Confrontation**

Neji could feel the anger radiating from his team mate as she strode up to his front door. She was wearing a scarlet, sleeveless, high collared shirt and black pants. Her hair was bound in a bun beneath a navy cloth and she had wrapped bandages around her knuckles. The Hyuuga supposed that somewhere in Konoha, a group of trees had been severely reduced in the past half hour.

"Good morning," he greeted her pleasantly.

"Morning." True enough, her morning was no where near 'good'.

"You know, I think I should say sorry. It's my fault that-"

"How right you are, Neji!"

Tenten's eyes narrowed. She knew that voice. It seemed that her day was only going to get better.

"Hiashi-sama. Aunt Haruka." Neji bowed and Tenten stared at his shadow. "I trust your trip was well?" Neji asked politely.

"It was horrendous!" Haruka said. "For an hour straight, all I heard about was 'Tenten this' and 'Tenten that' … _who is that girl?" _she demanded. Then, she caught sight of the kunoichi. "_You!_" she shrieked, looking almost apoplectic. "The mute! The one in your bedroom- _most _unseemly! _Most ordinary, _and definitely _not _suitable for my nephew-"

"Haruka…" Hiashi said warningly. "That is not to be discussed now. We have returned to settle certain… _affairs _that have been brought to our attention."

"The fault is mine entirely. I will accept the consequences of my actions." he said, after kneeling.

"It is no one's fault. Haruka and I just wish to speak with Tenten. Privately," Hiashi added.

Tenten shut her eyes and breathed. First her mother, and now Haruka. And Hiashi. Someone was _really _out to get her.

She was lead to a small room, where cushions and tea had been prepared. Tenten kneeled awkwardly in front of Hiashi and Haruka. The latter seemed intent on making sure that Tenten was wiped off the face of the planet.

"Tenten," Hiashi said pleasantly. "How are you?"

"Honestly… I don't know." Tenten confessed.

"I need to ask you some questions." Hiashi continued. "You must not try to lie- for with my eyes, I can see what you think."

"I have nothing to hide," she replied, her hands lying flat on her thighs. She needed to calm down. Getting angry at her mother, or Haruka, was useless now.

"Are you and my nephew having an intimate relationship?"

"No."

"Are you in any kind of a relationship that can be regarded as more than that of friendship?"

Tenten chewed her bottom lip. She didn't even know the answer to that question. She had spoken to him of the exact same thing that very morning, but had received no definite answer.

"Tenten?" Hiashi prompted.

"Not that I know of," she replied truthfully.

Haruka was outraged with her response.

"Do friend _kiss _each other?" she demanded, and was silenced by her brother-in-law with a baleful glare.

"Do you have any feelings for Neji that could be considered beyond friendship?" Hiashi asked calmly.

Tenten looked like she was struggling with herself for a few moments. This interrogation was futile.

"There's no point in denial." Tenten replied evenly. "I must confess to have feelings for Neji- but I know my place, as a friend… and a shinobi."

Hiashi nodded, although there was a change in his eyes.

"You may go." He said, and Tenten stood. She turned to walk out the door, but, upon second thought, turned to face Neji's uncle and aunt.

"Hiashi-san…"

"That will do, Tenten." Hiashi said firmly.

Tenten flexed her fingers, held her head high, and walked out of the room, into the courtyard. The earth was still a bit damp from last night's storm, but the warm spring morning had taken away most of the surface water.

Neji approached her carefully.

"Stop trying to be meek," Tenten snapped. "And I don't need your sympathy, either. Just tell me what you came here to say, and I'll leave."

"I think that it would be best, on both sides, if we didn't see each other for a while." He was careful not to touch her.

"I think it's a good idea."

A servant walked past and they stopped talking until he was out of earshot.

"You know, I really am sorry this had to happen." Neji's voice was tinged with guilt.

"Me too." Tenten stood, unwrapping her bandages to reveal bruised and bloody knuckles. She blew on them gently, beginning to regret punching boulders. They had been completely decimated, but she was still angry.

"I guess I'll see you in two weeks, then."

"What? Why?"

"My party. It's been pushed forward, so I'm having it here in two weeks. It starts at about six, and you should find something appropriately formal."

"I'll see you there, then."

Tenten walked away without another word.

----x----

Neji stood in the middle of a small, private garden upon a small bridge that over looked a large pond. The young Hyuuga stared unseeingly at the carp, darting about in the shadowy waters. Hanabi joined him, and crossed her arms, staring at him in his clear reflection

"You shouldn't have invited her," she said bluntly, after a moment of silence.

"What should I have said? She's my team mate."

"Is there anything more than that, Neji?"

Neji was silent, and Hanabi seemed to know far too much for a twelve year old.

"Neji… listen. I know you're trying to protect her… but you have to accept what will happen- there's nothing you can do about it. Please, for Tenten's sake- and yours- you can't keep whatever this thing is between you."

"Who said that Tenten and I had something going on?" Neji said defensively.

"Well… I have friends, Neji- and we don't kiss each other." Hanabi said dryly. "And I'm pretty sure that Hinata and her friends don't kiss, and Ino doesn't kiss Chouji, and Sakura won't kiss Naruto except for maybe a peck on the cheek. And they don't sleep in each others beds, and end up making out in the morning, or start pashing each other over ice cream."

"Well…" Neji mimicked. "You don't know that they don't. And if it were you, or Hinata, those boys would never see the next light of day." Neji said in all seriousness.

"Neji- you have to stop stalling! You have to see her, and tell her before it happens…" Hanabi said quietly, and left.

Neji, being Neji, gripped the railing, leaving deep marks in the wood, and stalked off into another part of the dimly lit, cool garden.

----x----

When Tenten arrived at the Hyuuga doors, which were guarded by two surly looking bouncers, the sky had fully darkened and two torches burned on either sides of the entrance. They took one long look at her, as if weighing her up. Tenten swallowed her nerves, and held her head high, smiled brilliantly and flicked her hair back, and heard the sounds of revelling within the walls of the Hyuuga gardens.

"Name?" One of them asked gruffly.

"Tenten," she said smoothly, and her name was ticked off the list. They stepped aside, and let the kunoichi pass.

Her steps slowed upon coming through the archway. The path split into two, torches illuminating both ways and casting soft shadows on the dark foliage of the shrubs. The sound of the crowd came from the path leading to the right, and Tenten walked alone, her shoes making no noise on the pebbles, her dress flowing as silently and fluidly as water.

She turned around the corner, her fingers gently brushing the petals of a hot pink camellia as she passed it. No one seemed to notice her silent entrance.

"Tenten-san," Hinata bowed with a smile on her face.

Tenten returned the gesture. She never liked formality, especially when it came to her friends. "Hinata-san."

"Thanks for coming." Hinata squeezed Tenten's hands slightly before moving on to the next arrival.

The kunoichi spotted Lee and walked over, past Ino and Sakura.

"So, where's the birthday boy?" Ino said.

"Who knows?" Sakura replied as she watched Tenten turn away. "Maybe he's meeting his new girlfriend, or something."

The kunoichi couldn't help but hear the last comment.

----x----

After dinner, Tenten walked back to the entrance, this time taking the left path, away from the stares and cool, empty conversations.

"Tenten?" Hiashi called. The kunoichi turned, and, from the shadows, Neji watched the kunoichi's movements. Tenten bowed as she murmured a greeting. Neji watched as the ends of her hair fell over her shoulders in a silky ripple of chocolate brown, contrasting pleasantly with the turquoise blue dress. It whispered about her knees as she walked.

After a moment, the pair walked on in their different directions, and Tenten stood on the bridge, watching the water flow in the moonlight. Neji approached her, and Tenten turned around quickly.

"Happy birthday, Neji." Tenten said softly. "I… didn't see you before."

"Well, I was sitting at the main table, so you must have been making a conscious effort to not look at me." He said, smirking.

Tenten leaned on the railing, and Neji admired the kunoichi's choice of attire. The hemline ended with a flare, teasingly below her knees, but was form fitting on her upper body, clinging to her hips but flaring dramatically. Her upper back was bared, and the dress was strapless. Her eyes were dark and smoky, her lips almost naturally rouged. Her cheeks had a light dusting of pink upon them, and the eyelashes framing those exquisite chestnut eyes were significantly longer.

The kunoichi's hair had been half tied up, and the tied up section plaited, glints of auburn twisting its way through the braid, like strands of daylight.

She wore a pair of long silver earrings, with small crystals twinkling on the chain; several silver bangles on each hand, and, much to Neji's secret chagrin, she wore her lily pendant around her neck.

"So what is it?" Tenten asked after a moment.

"What's what?"

"That surprise." Tenten said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. They both heard a light chiming, and the conversation stilled. Hiashi's voice rang out, and carried even to their ears.

"_Dear friends and family of Neji …"_

"Neji?" Tenten prompted.

With a strange look in his eyes, Neji stepped up to her, and took her in his arms, and kissed her noting the catch of her breath when their lips touched, one hand roaming her smooth back and holding her firmly against his body, and the other cupping her face, and she instinctively threw her arms around his neck, her bangles chiming softly as they slunk down from her wrists.

"… _I thank you for coming out on this auspicious event…"_

Tenten felt rather at a loss when Neji's mouth left her own. In a moment, he was gone, and walking briskly back to the main area.

"… _That is Neji's eighteenth birthday party- a celebration…" _

Tenten silently rejoined the crowd who were looking up at Hiashi who had been silently joined by Neji.

"… Of the coming of age of my nephew- who I know has become a fine gentleman."

Everyone clapped politely.

"As such," Hiashi continued. "There is an important announcement to make- that I wish to be made public- regarding Neji's future."

Tenten looked up at the podium. Neji stood at Hiashi's left hand and Haruka smugly at his right. Hinata and Hanabi stood further behind, their faces calm and composed.

"Since early March of this year… Neji has been betrothed to his cousin…"

There was a definite murmur in the crowd and Tenten subconsciously balled her fists, her nails forming purple crescents on her palm. She bit her tongue, and the release of the hot, sweet blood left her feeling almost liberated.

"Hyuuga Hitomi- the daughter of my sister-in-law, Hyuuga Haruka." Hiashi continued once the noise had died away.

"They are to be married in six weeks time, in which everyone present here, is invited." Hiashi finished, and stepped off the platform, followed shortly by Haruka and Neji. Everyone seemed to surge forward, wanting to congratulate Hiashi, Neji and Haruka on the favourable match except Tenten, who made eye contact once, with Neji and turned, walking slowly away.

Neji followed her, making his way through the crowd, doing nothing as Lee, Kiba and Naruto slapped him heavily on the back, Gai picked him up and hugged him, Sakura and Ino planted feathery light kisses on his cheek and Sasuke, Shino, Shikamaru, Gaara and Kankuro shook his hand.

Running out of the Hyuuga compound at last, Neji saw Tenten walking down the street. He called her name, and ran after her.

"Why are you following me?" Tenten asked brightly. Too brightly. "You should be inside, being congratulated by everyone, as is your place. Not out here."

"Tenten… I'm sorry. I was going to tell you… so many times- but each time… I just couldn't."

"What are you sorry for?" Tenten asked bitterly, changing suddenly. "That you kissed me… so many times like you meant it- or for never having the courage to tell me?"

The words were like a physical blow, and Tenten turned around and walked home, in the darkness, on her own, while Neji stood numbly in the middle of the street.

----x----

The next week, Hinata and Hanabi came to visit Tenten, who lay in her bed, not really wanting to move.

Hinata opened the curtains and the windows briskly.

"Why are you doing this?" asked the Hyuuga almost crossly.

"Because I want to, Hinata- now go and leave me alone."

"You're pathetic. We came to you to ask you if you wanted to come see Hitomi with us, but I guess you're just too mopey to come with," Hanabi said nonchalantly and rose.

"You're going to see… his fiancée?" Tenten echoed.

----x----

An hour later, Tenten, Hinata and Hanabi stepped down from the carriage. Hinata and Hanabi were dressed in traditional Hyuuga robes, and Tenten was posing as their servant. The sisters were there simply to visit their cousin, and had not intended to stay for long.

Tenten had masked her face, changing her hair and eye colour. Bright, electric blue bangs framed her face. Her hair was cropped and her blunt fringe fell short just above her jade green eyes. Hanabi had rolled her eyes and Hinata had asked why she had donned the disguise. Tenten had shrugged. In truth, it made her feel stronger. She was no longer Tenten on the outside- and she was no longer outwardly affected by Neji's engagement.

The trio were escorted up to Hitomi's room, and the sisters waited outside, and let Tenten in.

The kunoichi entered the room that was obviously kept immaculately clean. Murals adorned the walls, of birds and butterflies, waterfalls, dragons and gods.

"Hello?" Tenten called out. A small movement caught the kunoichi's attention, and she turned to the window. A young woman of around sixteen sat on a bay window seat, looking at Tenten.

"Who are you?"

"I am Suzume," Tenten murmured with a bow.

"No, that is not _your _name." Hitomi said simply, observing the strange girl with green eyes and blue hair. "Tell me, what is your _real _name?"

"Tenten." She answered, dropping her disguise.

"Ah… from the heavens…" she murmured. "A beautiful name…" she sighed wistfully.

Tenten was rather taken aback. She had expected a spoilt princess with a sharp tongue and no manners at all, like her mother. The girl before her was already on the border of womanhood, and would grow to become a strong, quiet and confident woman. It was a good match indeed.

"I am not like my mother in any way." Hitomi said quietly, turning to face the kunoichi for the first time. Tenten was more than a little awed by her beauty. Her eyes were, not unsurprisingly, silvery, but there was something different about them. She had the white eyes of a Hyuuga- but they were so white, they were almost an icy blue, not the silvery lilac she was used to. Her hair was also, not of the typical Hyuuga- the silky locks of Hitomi's hair were purely silver, like moonbeams had been woven throughout the strands. Two kinds of beauty indeed, Tenten thought.

"I am not your normal Hyuuga." She replied. "My gifts of insight are extraordinarily powerful, even without the Byakugan ... activated," she said after a moment's thought. "So I suppose you know, then." Hitomi said. "About me and my fiancée."

"Yes." Tenten replied stiltedly.

"You know him personally?" it was more like a statement.

"I do."

"What is he like?"

"Neji is… Neji," Tenten said, struggling to find words. "He's a genius, a prodigy, a workaholic… but at the same time… I don't know…"

"Please, finish what you were saying." Hitomi said.

"Well, at the same time, he's sincere, but sarcastic, and caring… but so indifferent it's almost ridiculous. And then… he used to love his speech about being a caged bird- he would often call himself that…" Tenten trailed off, lost in her own thoughts.

"Did you say… a caged bird?"

"Yes…"

Hitomi sighed and looked out the window, at the clear blue sky.

"I am also a caged bird… but _he_ has been given a liberating taste of love, I see." She said with a humorous inflection in her voice, and pretended not to notice Tenten's blush.

Silence settled, and Tenten's thoughts drifted as she gazed upon Neji's fiancée. In a way, she intuitively knew that although but a girl, Hitomi possessed a lacquered arrogance, an inborn pride from her mother- not matter what the girl might think.

The daughter of a most noble clan, Hitomi had probably never passed beyond her own gate except in a sedan-chair under escort- and _never_ to Konoha. Nevertheless, she was highly educated and sophisticated beyond her years. At sixteen years of age, carefully trained in the most elaborate codes of deportment, Hitomi had shown no opposition when told of the marriage arrangements that had been made for her. Rather, she had shown the proper degree of submission. Her pleasant smile and her gentle voice had not betrayed her feelings of grief and apprehension.

Tenten had a flash in her mind, and imagined Hitomi in the ensuing years of her marriage, seeing as she obeyed the codes of etiquette so deeply ingrained in her. These were the codes formed by the ethics of a clan who for thousands of years had lived under strict public and private discipline. The exquisite etiquette of old time training in the cultivated classes was inherited and as much a part of Hitomi as was the shape of her hands or the colour of her eyes. Her way of sitting or walking, the manner of presenting or receiving a gift, so stylised but so natural to her, would never change.

Hitomi's education most likely included the skill of being at any moment to inflict her own self destruction by performing jigai- piercing the throat with a dagger so as to sever the arteries in a single thrusting moment. Even in these kinds of times, Tenten knew that certain women of high caste still performed sacrificial jigai as a demonstration of loyalty to the spirit of their husband after his untimely demise.

"My life might not be _that _exciting," Hitomi said, her eyes sparkling. "But I have been trained, and I admit that your thoughts are mostly correct. Your skills of perception are quite good, for one of your blood."

"One of my blood?" Tenten repeated flatly.

"I don't mean for you to take that the wrong way." Hitomi said calmly. "Tell me- what is your life as a kunoichi like?"

Hitomi was strange. Distant and cool, but at the same time, she seemed to yearn for company. Tenten took a deep breath. The young Hyuuga was easy to open up to, and Tenten wasn't sure if that was what she wanted. A part of her wished that Hitomi was just as vile as her mother, so it was that much easier to hate Hitomi… but Fate always had ironic surprises to wind you when you weren't paying attention.

"Well, as of two months ago, I was deprived of my weapons- it was rather like losing an arm, because weapons are the only thing I know how to use… with my heart as opposed to knowing in my mind how to punch, or kick in strategic positions to cause a maximum amount of pain."

"That means nothing to me." Hitomi replied in a strange voice.

"I thought so."

"What is it like in Konoha?" Hitomi, it seemed, was full of questions.

"Konoha is a village filled with lush trees, and forests, and lakes- it is so beautiful, and clean and peaceful… it's my home. But," she said with a smile. "The people it also houses… are quite interesting. I mean, there's Naruto- the number one ninja in surprising people… and Shikamaru- one of the laziest people I know… and yet somehow one of the most steady of heart. Tsunade-sama – the Hokage, is a beautiful, strong and wise leader…"

----x----

The hours flew by, without Tenten or Hitomi noticing. They shared tales of their lives, and the things that they had known- well, Tenten did more of the talking, and Hitomi did more of the listening.

Hinata and Hanabi came into the room a short while after sundown. They looked happy, tired and quite rumpled after spending the day horse riding in the extensive mountainside that belonged exclusively to their clan.

"We're sorry to intrude," Hinata said after clearing her throat. "But Suzume must return home with us,"

"I'm sure," Hitomi replied.

Tenten smiled secretively and left the room with the two sisters, and fell asleep on the journey home.

When they woke up in Konoha, Neji was waiting at the steps, expecting his cousins to emerge from the carriage. He did not expect Tenten, clothed in the grey robes of a servant, a hood pulled over her head.

"Tenten," Neji called. "Wait."

Tenten tried to hurry on, but Neji placed his hand on the crook of her elbow, and a heatwave coursed through her body, dispelling all of her weariness and cold. Tenten could only marvel at what his touch could do to her.

Using his other hand, Neji gently pushed back the hood, his fingers brushing her bangs, revealing her brunette hair, partly restrained by plaits- the bands had come off when she'd fallen asleep. He gently tugged his fingers through them, the braids untwining with a silky ease.

"Why are you running away so quickly?"

"I wasn't running." Tenten said crossly.

He began to walk the path that they had taken to the other garden late last night.

Tenten took off the robe, and slung it over the bridge. She wore simple dark clothing underneath, and avoided his eyes when she asked, "How?"

"You're wearing the necklace, Tenten- who else would wear it?" Neji brushed the charm with his fingertips, and Tenten flinched, stepping back.

"What's wrong?"

"This waiting is killing me," Tenten said in a whisper. "How long have you known?"

"Since… your birthday." Neji said with a sigh.

"Then why?" Tenten demanded in short words, not trusting her voice to speak more than necessary.

"Because… I had to. I needed to know… what it would have been like, to be with you."

Her wrathful anger had woken and was surfacing.

"It's always been all about you, hasn't it, Neji?" She hissed. "The world that you live in has to revolve around you. But you never thought that what you were doing would fucking cut me into _pieces_. I'm a fucking _mess_ because of you. You manipulated me, you toyed with me and led me on to believe that you could fucking commit to a relationship."

"I only –"

"You only ever thought of your_ own _feelings, Neji." Tenten interrupted scathingly. "It was never about me. It could have been _Temari_, for all you cared."

"It wasn't like that!" Neji said sternly, but Tenten did not relent.

"I couldn't believe that you would do something like that to me. It's barely a week after your birthday party and I am so angry at you that I cannot express my rage with words!" Her voice was rising in volume, but they didn't care. "You made me believe that you felt the same way about me, and you made me go through that fucking _ordeal_ with your fucking _aunt _and uncle! You paid no attention whatsoever to how I would feel if you told me! You couldn't just tell me when you found out?"

Neji stepped towards her, his heart bursting with the fierce need to take her into his arms, and it actually hurt severely when she stepped backwards.

"It was never like that." He said, and Tenten shivered at the raw emotion in his voice.

"It was!" She shouted. "It was like that! You just pissed off to the fucking _desert_ to drown yourself in alcohol! I should have just stopped worrying like they told me to and let you die slowly because of alcohol poisoning! _Fuck,_ I was just such an _idiot_ to even care about you!" She slammed her fist into the wood and it splintered with ease.

"It was wrong of me… but I just wanted to …" Neji struggled to find the words. "I just wanted to let you know that in a different time and a different place, things would have been different."

"Of course they would have been." Tenten spat. "I wouldn't be so affected by your words, by your voice and by your touch. I wouldn't care that you led me on like that and then dropped me when your engagement was made official. I would not even care about you! I would have gone with Dai and we'd probably be together now," she spat. "I used to think that you were the greatest thing that had ever happened to me. You were a friend. Someone I could trust my whole being with- life, secrets and all. And now… now, you're just like every other _pig_."

"You don't mean that," Neji said, taking a step forward.

"Touch me and I _swear_ I will kill you," Tenten whispered. "Stay away from me."

She turned and walked away from him, disappearing into the shadowy night.


	8. Shifting

**E: More Hitomi character development this time around. I don't want her to be another Mary-Sue kind of OC. **

**Paper Shuriken **

**Chapter Eight: Shifting**

With less than three weeks to go until the big wedding, everyone in the Hyuuga household seemed to be extremely busy. Everyone, it seemed, except for Neji.

"… My beautiful Hitomi will be married in a church- there will be none of this traditional riff-raff, but a best man, two groomsmen and three bridesmaids- two of whom will be your daughters, Hiashi, and …" Haruka would not cease in her tirade about how beautiful Hitomi's dream wedding would be, and the floral arrangements, and the dress, and the music that would be played…

"Are you listening, Neji?"

Neji looked at his aunt coolly.

"Who did you want to invite to your wedding?" Haruka repeated, obviously annoyed.

"As I informed you before, Haruka," Hiashi cut in smoothly, "the guest list has been chosen."

"Neji- you look absolutely horrific- go outside and play- leave the planning to us." Haruka commanded imperiously. "As I was saying, I wanted Susumu Takeshi invited as well as…"

Neji, careful not to show the relief on his face, left the stuffy room, stretching his limbs quietly after he shut the door behind him. So far, it seemed like the past three hours had dragged on for an age, and he was relieved to be out of the compound.

Tenten was sitting just outside the complex with a haughtily composed face. She took one look at him and walked off in the direction of the Hokage Tower. He knew why she was there, but refused to move from the entrance until she spoke to him. He did not want to be the one to yield. The kunoichi, of course, knew exactly how to play this game. A gruff hand picked up Neji by his collar and threw him a far distance forward. He landed at Tenten's feet, who looked down at him in amusement. Neji scrambled to his feet and dusted the dirt off his garments.

"Fine," Neji sighed. "You win this time."

----x----

Tsunade handed them their mission statements, and Tenten opened the scroll briskly scanning the contents.

"Infiltration?" Tenten said.

"Capture?" Neji asked, seemingly unimpressed.

"In short, yes. Your target, Kazuki Kichiro is a wealthy business man in the Wave country. However, the source of his fortune is unclear- and we have many sources who reveal that his money has come from illegal trading with the black market. On top of that, he has a handful of known aliases which can further prove his suspiciousness. Your mission is to infiltrate his mansion, and capture him, and then take him back to Konoha for interrogation." Tsunade explained. Shizune procured a bag and threw it at Tenten. The kunoichi looked inside and her face wrinkled with distaste.

"Don't worry," Shizune said cheerfully, "There's a book that comes with it, and I left extra space for you to pack your own things."

"I don't need a book to know how to-" Tenten grumbled.

"Your mission begins in an hour. You must reach the designated resting place tonight before 1900 hours." Tsunade interrupted.

"It is imperative that you keep to your mission, and keep your identities as Konoha ninja secret- I advise you to keep your forehead protectors at home." Shizune reminded, and Neji nodded once again, his body language saying, "What do you think I am- an idiot?"

Tenten rolled her eyes, and left the room with a bow to Tsunade and Shizune. Neji followed moments later.

Tsunade turned in her chair and stared out the window.

"Do you think that they'll be able to work together?" Shizune asked.

"I hope they can." Was all the reply she got.

----x----

When Tenten came home, Mai was in the kitchen.

"I'm going on a mission. I need to leave in forty five minutes." She said, and retreated into her room to pack extra things in the space that Shizune had so kindly left for her. Tenten snorted, and showered and changed, then left her room. Mai was standing at the open door.

Then, surprising her daughter, Mai hugged the kunoichi tearfully and slipped something into Tenten's hand.

"Be safe…" she whispered. "... and come home soon."

In that simple gesture, she had begun to bridge the chasm between them.

"I always do, don't I?" Tenten replied in a muffled voice, and then walked out of the house.

Neji was already waiting for her at the gates, as always.

"Did you read the mission details?" Tenten asked after a short distance of walking.

"Of course I did."

"Are you… familiar with your alias and his personality?" It was an unnecessary question- it was an old persona that they had been using for many years.

"Are you?" Neji shot back.

Tenten bit her lip, and spun a pair of kunai in her hands, the blades flashing as they caught the light.

"It's funny, isn't it?" Tenten said suddenly. "We always say sorry, hoping that it is enough- and most of the time, it isn't."

Neji smirked. "Are you implying that I need to say sorry to you?"

"I'm telling you that you have to do much more than say sorry," Tenten retorted.

----x----

In a clearing, Tenten and Neji jumped down from the trees and began to prepare for their 'act'. She unloosed her hair and rubbed bits of bracken into the strands. It had started to pour down for the past hour, so she and Neji were soaked to the skin. She changed into one of the dresses that Shizune had kindly supplied (it was made of pale blue silk chiffon) and stuffed her shoes into her bag. Taking a kunai, she deftly slashed at the dress, drawing her own blood in the process. The warm, red ribbons provided a semblance of hazy warmth. She uncorked a small vial of clear, odourless liquid from her bag and swallowed the contents, then threw it into the surrounding area, hearing the tinkle of the bottle shattering. She locked her eyes with Neji's and she passed out moments later.

----x----

A stranger burst into a busy inn that night. He had dark hair, grey eyes and pale, pale skin. In his arms, he held a delicate looking woman with dark hair and skin that was almost blue from cold. She suffered from several lacerations to her body, and bruises suggested that she'd been severely beaten.

The owner of the inn, and bartender, hopped over the counter and led Neji through the smoky room. Someone was sent out into the rain to find a doctor, or medic, and a warm meal was cooked for the newcomer. The bartender's daughter found decent clothes for the two, and the doctor came in, frowning and muttering.

Neji was placed on a bed opposite Tenten's and a curtain drawn between them, so he could not see what was being done. His wounds were dressed by the shy girl who blushed profusely as she completed her task, and handed him his plate of food and tea.

He could hear Tenten's moans, and knew what was happening to her body.

She had taken a potion that would bring on symptoms of various deadly seeming diseases while the person who took it would not actually sick in any way at all. It was more like an illusion; and Tenten could still actually hear and move properly. Neji had the cure on him, but the apparent sickness would last only for a few days, if their mission went to plan.

"What's your name, sir?" the patron asked gruffly, pointedly ignoring Tenten's whimpers.

"Makoto Yoshiro. She is my fiancée, Tsukiko Minako." Neji replied softly. His head was bowed and held in his hands.

"I see. My name is Masuyo Ryota." The man introduced himself.

The doctor approached them wearily.

"Some of the wounds are deep, but they've all been bandaged. Her skin seems to chill, but her eyes are glazed like she has a fever. The markings on her skin are rashes, but it is nothing like I have seen before. Where are you headed?"

"The Wave country. For a business trip." Neji replied.

"Yes- there is a skilled medic there, trained in all aspects of healing- his name is Kiyoshi Nobu. He is currently in residence with Lord Kazuki."

"I see. How may I find him?" Neji asked.

"I will take you to see him tomorrow." The doctor replied. "For now, I will stay for the night to look over her, and see if her condition improves. If not, we'll leave for the Wave country in the morning."

"May I … have some time alone with my fiancée?"

"Of course." Ryota replied. He, his daughter and the doctor left the room. Neji activated his bloodline limit and checked that no one was listening. He cloaked them in a genjutsu and Tenten sat up.

"Fiancée?" Tenten repeated. Neji shrugged.

"I thought you said that you'd read the mission itinerary- you were my _boyfriend _– not _fiancé_- how could you get that confused? I now have a 'matrimonial bond' to you! Well, actually," she added, "That didn't stop _you_, now, did it?"

"Calm down. It worked, as you already know." Neji replied, ignoring her last comment. He took her hand, rubbing her skin gently. She did not respond to his ministrations and moved her hand away, tucking it beneath the blanket with her other. "How are you feeling?"

"How would you feel if you were coughing every three seconds?"

"Technically, you aren't sick."

"Technically, you are injured- and my husband to be!" Tenten said. "So shut up and act like you care!"

"You've always been a professional, Tenten." Neji said sarcastically.

"What was that? Did I hear someone talking?" Tenten asked. "Did I hear a hypocrite- who initiated a selfish relationship, violating several taboo, not to mention hurt a girl's feelings in the process- speak? It must have been my imagination."

Neji sighed and lay down on the bed beside her.

"What are you doing?"

"Shutting up and acting like I care," Neji replied with a twist of humour in his voice.

"I hate you," Tenten grumbled.

"Goodnight, Tenten." Neji retorted, and Tenten couldn't keep a small smile from her face as Neji gently slung his arm over her waist and pulled her closer to him, dropping the illusion.

_How can I still feel this way about him- even after everything he's done to me?_

----x----

As her dreams were filled with crazy hazes of colour, Tenten cursed the potion- she knew that her body was putting on a marvellous performance- convulsing, her skin too hot yet too cold at the same time. Her mind, however, was somewhere else, in a calm, lucid place where she mentally observed everything around her. She wished that Neji had been the one in her situation- he was the one who meditated; but then that would leave her to do the negotiations, and Neji to the seduction- and it was the latter that would fail. She smirked, and felt a tremor run through her sweating limbs as a coughing fit wracked her body. Her mind barely acknowledged its presence.

She had a sensation of moving- they were in a carriage, and Neji was holding her to his body, while talking in a low voice to the doctor.

Two weeks ago, Tenten realised, she would have loved to be on a mission such as this, with only Neji, posing as her fiancé, no less. Now… well to her dread, Tenten realised she still felt the same. It was just a lot more contained, and hidden beneath hurt. That out of the way, there was still some kind of thrill at being with him, an electric spark that his touch seemed to inspire within her, and resonated through her body…

----x----

Neji carefully lifted Tenten's limp and shivering body out of the carriage and carried her, following the doctor, into the castle grounds. The building itself was topped with spires and turrets that leapt and dived in graceful, flowing arcs and shone in the crimson sunset.

Used to the simple grace of austerity, Neji was entirely unimpressed with the whimsical display of wealth, refraining from showing his disdain at the rich and gaudy furnishings inside the castle.

"Minako" was seen to immediately, and Neji's wounds were redressed a short time after, and a balm was applied. Neji couldn't help but remember Hinata at that moment- she'd sometimes, when she had the time, treat him in the same manner.

Kiyoshi Nobu, who sat opposite Neji, seemed like an oily leech. His hair was thin and balding, and he had combed some oiled strands ineffectively over the bald patch. He had rubbed his hands together as he muttered and murmured long nonsensical words about the kunoichi's condition, poking, pinching and prodding her limbs. Tenten had actually growled at him in her fever induced state, and had scratched out at him, her accuracy nothing to laugh about. Neji had been forced to conceal a smirk.

"You are aware, sir, that I may not be able to fully heal her ailments- it is like nothing I have ever seen before." The doctor informed him dismissively.

"She is not the only reason why I have come to the Wave Country." Neji said icily. "We have come to discuss business matters with Kazuki Kichiro- our appointment is this evening, but, in her current condition, my fiancée is in no state to be talking business with men."

The doctor's eyes lit up at the mention of his master's name, and 'business'.

"Ah- I _see_!" he exclaimed, rubbing his hands together in that _infuriating_ manner. "Every effort will be made to ensure that your dear beautiful fiancée will be in the best of health before you leave." He rummaged around in his pockets, and handed Neji a vial of some evil looking substance.

"This is a rare potion- one drop should bring her back to health immediately. If you want her to attend the meeting this afternoon, this will heal all of her ailments in no time. If she takes too much, however, her condition will worsen."

Neji nodded, and the doctor bowed deeply several times and left, leaving Neji to unpack.

Neji exhaled noisily and, as he unpacked, discretely cast a jutsu over the room that prevented eavesdropping, also deceiving electronic devices such as video cameras.

"Try getting poked and prodded repeatedly by a ball of sleaziness!" Tenten snapped croakily. Neji smirked and glanced at the clock. She still had three hours to go until she was due for the meeting, and Neji was sure that the balm that had been applied to their skin was not to be trusted. Besides, it would not look good if she turned up to a business venture swathed in bulky bandages. He handed Tenten a tablet (which she dry swallowed with a grimace) and took a shower, rubbing away the medicine, throwing the evil-smelling potion down the drain also, and rubbing Hinata's salve into his numerous cuts, getting Tenten's help on the ones that were in areas that were harder to reach.

Tenten felt the effect of the tablet taking over her senses quickly- the fever and chill upon her skin vanished and the rash faded instantly. She sighed, relieved, and left Neji to change as she showered, washing the balm away.

----x----

Neji helped Tenten twist her hair up as she pinned it down with a floral clip.

"Good luck tonight," Neji said, looking at Tenten in her long, black slinky dress, with a bow tied on her left side. It was cut extremely low (almost down to her navel), front and back, and the slit on both sides went up just a bit too far … especially since it was more for someone else's benefit. Her bruises were still apparent and Neji massaged the areas with care- and in an almost apologetic manner, for it had been he who had afflicted the wounds. Tenten murmured appreciatively and, when Neji was done, slipped on her shoes and jewellery.

"So what was the book Shizune was talking about?" Neji asked.

"Something about seduction, and whatnot," Tenten said dismissively as she rouged her cheeks lightly and applied a sultry, dark shade of lipstick to her lips. Neji thought she was succeeding with her seduction- and she hadn't even stepped out of the room yet! Mascara was next applied, with a light dusting of eye shadow and a thin line of kohl.

"I think I'm starting to see why Tsunade-sama chose you," Neji said casually. He hadn't moved from the door, his senses alert for anyone who could come into hearing range.

"Why is that?" Tenten asked, putting away her things and sliding on several rings.

"You don't take as long as the others, and Hinata would be much to shy, besides."

"You make it sound like they're all the same- Hinata, I know, definitely has her strengths. Women can go to lengths when they must; kunoichi are trained to do so- Sakura and Ino are kunoichi also." Tenten retorted.

A terrible silence lapsed, and Tenten clipped on a simple anklet.

"What's all the jewellery for?" Neji asked.

"That's for me to know… and a certain male to find out." Tenten smiled in a cat-like manner.

Shaking his head incredulously, Neji leaned in and helped her clip on her necklace- the dark pendant dangled just below her chest. He drew her in, closer to his body, fumbling with the small catch and felt her the feminine scent of her hair envelope his senses, and knew that Kichiro would not be able resist temptation… as he was finding very hard to do…

"If you need my help, you need only say so," Neji said softly in her ear. She shivered, feeling his breath upon her neck. There was a knock on the door, and a servant entered. Neji walked out of the bathroom, swiftly fixing his tie and Tenten took one last look at her hair in front of her mirror.

"Sir, Miss… This way, if you please."

----x----

Dinner was a private affair- Tenten and Neji dined with their host; the shinobi noting that Kichiro's gaze often lingered on Tenten's lithe form. Tenten clenched her fist and Neji flexed his fingers.

Kichiro spoke her name almost too often with a purr, and Neji cut in before she could reply. He had taken her hand to disguise the clenching of her fist, but she had repaid him by squeezing his hand in a deathly grip.

"I understand you came to my home quite ill this morning, Minako," Kichiro said, saying her name with a repulsive roll of his tongue.

"Yes- your doctor, Nobu-san is quite skilled in the arts of healing," Neji interjected.

"He has many times, Minako, saved the life of someone from death," Kichiro replied, ignoring Neji.

"For such a man, he seems very humble," Tenten replied, seemingly earnest.

Kichiro laughed dryly.

"Minako- even the most humble man cannot take lightly upon saving someone's life."

Tenten's skin prickled at the dark undercurrent in his tone, and conversation moved to much lighter matters.

After dinner, the trio retired to another room that was smaller and lit with candles, Kichiro dismissing all of the guards for the night. The lights made the shadows play, and brought out the contours of Tenten's form, casting a glow upon her skin. Both men were immediately drawn to her, and Neji smugly took advantage of the moment to kiss the side of her neck, inhaling the scent of her skin.

"I'm sorry," he apologized more to Tenten than to Kichiro. "I just couldn't help myself."

Tenten smiled, but her eyes glinted like ice.

She removed her shoes, and sat down on one of the cushions in the room, beside Neji. After a while of talking, Tenten and Neji were still alert, whereas Kichiro was almost drowsing. He hadn't noticed Tenten's surreptitious rubbing of her wrists where she wore a dark beaded bracelet that contained a scent that confused the mind. He couldn't hide the fact that he was leering down her dress, and almost drooling.

Tenten made a small signal to Neji and he excused himself. Kichiro was not a man to waste time. As soon as Neji left the room, he moved closer to her.

"All this talk of business bores me. Let us talk about you, Minako … you don't mind, do you?" Kichiro asked.

"Of course not," Tenten replied with a gentle smile.

"Minako… that is a beautiful name… one worthy of a woman of your… exquisiteness…" Kichiro said, his gaze flitting immediately to the necklace. Tenten felt a light blush spread across her cheeks as her hand dropped to her lap. Her other hand began to fiddle with her anklet, the jewelled chain falling off her ankle with ease. Kichiro assumed the blush had come from modesty- but it stemmed from blatant anger- he was just too drowsy to notice he hot waves of the raw emotion emanating from her

"You are… too kind, Kazuki-san." She replied softly.

"Please, call me Kichiro- must you be so formal?"

"Forgive me… Kichiro." She said, smiling. He smiled back, and she felt his hand close over her own.

"You are too beautiful to spend your life with that man…" Kichiro said, "You would surely waste away in whatever house he put you in," their eyes met, and she flinched when he ran his hand gently up her arm, and brushed a bruise that Neji had left beneath the strap of her dress upon her shoulder.

"He… is my fiancé," Tenten replied, rubbing her shoulder with her left hand, knowing that he would notice that she was not wearing her engagement band.

"Has he hurt you, Minako?" Kichiro asked gently, his hand gently tracing patterns up and down her arm. She shivered at the contact, moving closer to him, giving him an even closer view of the deep V of her dress.

She looked at him from lowered lashes, and he bent his face down to hers, and claimed her lips. But Tenten didn't see Kichiro- her target. In her mind, all she could think about was Neji.

She took his hand in hers and, in a smooth, almost caressing motion, lengthened the anklet- revealing the trip wire inside, and wrapped it with ease around his wrists. With a swift blow to the chest, Kichiro flew across the room, winded severely.

"So this is what it's come down to?" Kichiro wheezed. "Where are you really from? Minako really isn't your name, right?"

Tenten glared at him fiercely and took off her necklace and twisted it, sharp blades protruding from the sides of the obsidian pendant.

"What I do for a living is simple. I use steel. And it's amazing… how much pain I can inflict upon someone with just a flick of a wrist."

"Was that meant to scare me?" Kichiro smirked.

"No," Tenten replied, ripping off a strip of fabric from the slit with the hidden shuriken. She gagged her victim and punched the side of his head with the hand that had the poisoned ring upon it. Kichiro slumped forward onto the floor, unconscious.

"That was for drooling down my chest," Tenten muttered. Untying the dress, and rearranging the several folds of fabric, the kunoichi was now wearing something entirely modest- how it was possible, the kunoichi didn't know; she just thanked Shizune, and Sakura's brilliant weavings of genjutsu.

Knowing that no one would be around, Tenten picked up the body and threw it out the window, into the garden, where Neji was waiting.

----x----

"I'm home…" Tenten was about to say more when she saw who was sitting in her lounge room.

"Honey! You're home!" Mai said, rising. It seemed like she was thankful for the distraction.

"It seems like your daughter has arrived home, in a most unruly fashion- hair askew, black rags somehow arranged to look like clothing…"

Tenten sighed. She'd come home, expecting to have a nice long, relaxing soak in the bath tub with bubbles everywhere and just scrub her skin free of dirt… but no. She had to put up with Hyuuga Haruka, of all people.

"It seems like my daughter has taken pity on you," Haruka said. "You are henceforth employed within the Hyuuga service, as her lady-in-waiting."

"Doesn't she get a choice in this?" Mai demanded.

"I accept. It would be an honour." Tenten said coolly. She turned to her mother. "I think I've stayed too long- we just don't get along like we used to anymore… besides- what is more ladylike than serving upon a noblewoman?" she smiled. "I'll still come home, every fortnight- I promise."

Haruka clapped her hands and some servants entered the house and began to pack all of Tenten's belongings into boxes. One even picked up her bag for her.

"Well, it does seem like you are leaving… Tenten- and I can't do anything about it."

"When a Hyuuga wants something… they usually get it quickly," Tenten said wryly, kissing her mother on the cheek.

"And that's absolutely right!" Haruka interjected, and swept a helpless Tenten out of her home and into a carriage, and her pack was dropped neatly at her feet. Knowing that the trip would consume the next few hours, she promptly fell asleep.

----x----

Neji stepped out of his room, and saw Hanabi give him a clandestine glance and continued on her way. The older Hyuuga followed her until they met in the garden.

"Why are you following me?"

"Well that look you gave me obviously meant something, so spill it." Neji said, unimpressed at her attempt at feigning innocence. "Hanabi," Neji prompted in a deep voice.

The Hyuuga sighed.

"Tenten has left Konoha," Hanabi said.

"What?" Neji demanded, grabbing her arm. "When? How? Where is she going? Was she going with anyone?"

"Haruka took her…" Hanabi said softly, shrugging his hand away.

Some part of him registered that Hanabi had run off, but everything else seemed to only see that fact that his world had been shifted violently out of place- and everything was now starting to bleed together.

----x----

Hitomi greeted Tenten, sweat, dirt, tiredness and all, like a sister, and welcomed her graciously into her home. The kunoichi was allowed ample time in the bath, just soaking and dozing. After a long while, she got up and towelled herself dry and changed into the yukata supplied.

She heard Hitomi call her name, and Tenten silently entered the room.

Hitomi was sitting on her dressing stool, her white hair unbound. Tenten came up behind her and took the brush, and began to comb her new mistress' hair. Soon, the monotonous motion of running the silver comb through silver hair lulled Tenten into a light doze.

"Tenten," Hitomi prompted.

Tenten blinked. "I'm sorry- I missed what you said."

"How was your mission?"

"Did you see that dress I wore?"

Hitomi nodded.

"I wore that… on my mission, so I think you can guess from there what happened."

Hitomi's eyes grew round.

"Did you and Neji…"

Tenten laughed.

"No! I was the one sent in to retrieve information. Unluckily, it meant wearing the most daring dress I've ever seen." She sighed. "One punch was _not_ enough."

Hitomi smiled.

A gong was rung somewhere within the centre of the house, and Tenten jumped up, on the balls of her feet.

"My ladies, dinner… will be served in fifteen minutes." A servant said from the door, and Hitomi nodded.

They stood, and Tenten followed Hitomi through the house. It was far from the traditional Hyuuga household in Konoha- this house was more like a castle, with room for corridors and stable walls, and space to be filled with strange sculptures of metal, stone and dried bamboo, in positions of people and demons writhing in ecstasy and pain.

"This is… different to the estate in Konoha."

"This is my home," Hitomi said. "But I know what you mean- when they come here, from Konoha, they seem to get lost easily, and lose their bearings."

Tenten smiled at the notion of a Hyuuga, lost.

Dinner was served in a summer dining room- with windows on the eastern side. Sushi was served, and other exotic foods that tasted like heaven to Tenten's tired senses.

After their meal, Tenten carried a tray of tea up to Hitomi's room, and they sat on Hitomi's bed, Hitomi now brushing the long strands of the kunoichi's damp hair.

"Tenten, can I ask you something?"

Tenten, feeling at peace, replied with a murmur.

"What's it like?"

Tenten turned around.

"What's what like?"

"Love," Hitomi sighed as she fell back onto the coverlet.

"Love?" Tenten was going to deny that she'd ever been in love, but Hitomi beat her to it.

"As if you've never been in love," Hitomi scoffed. "You were burned by it and that was the only reason that you took up Hinata-san's offer."

"If you know so much, why do you want me to tell you?"

"I always used to imagine that I was a princess locked up in a tower, and that one day, some handsome prince would rescue me from my mother."

Tenten smiled. "Yes, well we all love to indulge in our fairy tales."

"But," Hitomi continued, "when I found out about Neji, every notion of 'love' was shattered. I just want to know."

Tenten sighed and lay beside her new friend.

"Well, where do you want me to start?"

"Tell me everything." Hitomi said.

"Well, okay… my first kiss was when I was something like thirteen – there was this boy who used to live across the street, and he always brought me flowers- even if Neji was there. He was quite cute, actually. His name was Yori Daichi." She smiled and blushed as she recounted the story.

"How about Neji- my mother seemed rather outraged about you and Neji… I mean I never heard much, but…" Hitomi trailed off.

It occurred to the kunoichi that Hitomi lived an extremely lonely life. She was hardly ever allowed outside- and when she did, she had to wear a thick veil so that no one could see her face. The weapons expert realised how many strings Hinata and Hanabi had needed to pull to get her into Hitomi's room.

"So what else did you want to know?" Tenten asked, yawning and rubbing the side of her face. She hadn't slept in more than twenty four hours.

"How far did you and Neji go?"

The question, blunt and abrasive, fell into silence.

"Not very," Tenten replied with a grimace. "It could have, so many times in the years that I've known him. But we never wanted to take the step."

"Never wanted… or never could?"

Hitomi's words had their desired effect, and Tenten became aware of one painful fact. She and Neji had always tried to lie to themselves before they had lied to the other. She'd done it so many times, trying to convince herself that certain feelings did not exist and that she was fine, when she never was…

"A bit of both," Tenten answered finally, with a shrug.

The two girls went to bed shortly after, Tenten tossing and turning- but knowing that she wasn't alone in her failure to fall asleep.

"Hey, Tenten?" Hitomi's voice was tired but resigned, like she was used to insomnia.

"Hmm?"

"What's life as a kunoichi like?" She asked. "I know you told me before, but it seemed too good to be true."

"You know what?" Tenten smiled, turning back to her companion. "I thought that too. It takes a long time to train, hone your skills and build up your teamwork with the rest of your cell. I've been a kunoichi for six years. That time has passed all too quickly, but at the same time, it has taken what has seemed like a lifetime."

"Do you think that Neji would mind?"

"What?"

"Do you think he would mind if I became a kunoichi?"

Tenten smiled, remembering one of the many things that Neji had told her he wanted his 'dream wife' to be like.

"No, I don't think he'd mind at all," she replied warmly. "Get some sleep, Hitomi. You're going to need it for tomorrow."


	9. Preparations

**E: More**** Hitomi and Dai. Less Hiro and clichés. **

**Paper Shuriken  
**

**Chapter Nine: Preparations**

_Fourteen days, fourteen hours, fifty seven minutes and two seconds._

Neji had taken to counting how long left until the wedding.

_Fourteen days, fourteen hours, fifty six minutes and sixty seconds._

He sighed, and broke out of his meditative state. Within moments, the dummy before him had been turned to woodchips.

----x----

The past few weeks had been weeks of activity; excluding the bride and groom. However, they had been kept busy by one thing- training.

The blade fell through the water, its wielder exhausted. She looked up at her teacher- her breathing light and even.

"How can you manage doing this everyday?" Hitomi asked, fishing the blade out from the shallow lake.

"Neji is a train-aholic." Tenten smiled. "But don't worry- I have my limits."

Hitomi almost fell back, struggling to comprehend what those limits could be- they had, after all, been practising for three hours.

"The last time we sparred, it was for eight hours. I had just fought with my mother over staying out all night, and all I had wanted to do was just release all of the pent up frustration. So, I went and found Neji, and we fought. Of course, it ended up with him taking advantage of me… _not_ in that way!" she laughed at Hitomi's look as she aided her friend in standing. "But he was going all- 'I'm so wise and mature' and trying to make sure that I didn't start anymore fights with Mai. But… it still hurt when he disabled my tenketsu."

"How many?"

"Sixty-four. I wouldn't be here talking to you if he'd hit all 128."

"I haven't learned that technique- I haven't ever fought someone before- I mean, I have been taught basic combat... but I still lack a lot of experience."

"You're doing excellent for a first timer, then." Tenten smiled. "You will need Hinata or Hanabi to teach you more about your own fighting style- as a female. Your stamina can be improved, but your posture and flexibility are excellent. You can also work on your footwork- again, Hinata knows all about it- or Neji, if you want to learn after the wedding. But, I recommend that you start before- because the more time you spend on it, the easier it is to progress into more advanced techniques, such as the Kaiten."

Hitomi accepted the comments with a nod, and Tenten handed her a katana.

"Every weapon requires a different grip; along with a different stance, and a different motion to ensure that it hits the mark quickly, silently and precisely. That is what kills- if you don't have speed, stealth and accuracy, you're most likely to get killed before you have another opportunity to kill them."

She spoke smoothly as she moved slowly through the familiar stances. Hitomi followed her movements until they could perform them in unison.

"And you know everything about all of these weapons?"

"Like the back of my hand." Tenten smiled.

"Oh look- Hitomi is playing with a knife." Someone said in a scathing voice. "Better not break a nail, princess."

Tenten turned at the sound of the voice.

"Oh," said a boy around seventeen. "It's _you_. You're that whore, the one who was sleeping with the great prodigy- Hyuuga Neji. Who's next- Uchiha Sasuke? That desert _monster_, Gaara?"

Tenten spun the blade rapidly in a practiced motion. The steel blade reflected the harsh lights of the midday sun onto the rippling lake. This boy was really getting on her nerves. It was bad enough that he was insulting her, but Sasuke, and Gaara? They had nothing to do with this.

"How about you come over here and say that again, and we'll see what this pretty knife can do?"

"Do you want to challenge a Hyuuga?"

"Do you want to lose to a kunoichi of Konoha?"

The boy smirked. "I never lose."

"You're definitely in for a surprise, then." Tenten smiled. Hitomi had long since left the lake, and was sitting calmly in the shade of a few trees, sipping at her water.

The youth cracked his knuckles and the sudden chakra flare sent ripples off the water and raised the hair on the back of Tenten's neck. "Ladies first," he mocked.

Tenten pulled out a pair of pink scrolls, and Hitomi watched as they burst open in the form of two intertwining dragons made of white smoke. Weapons found their way to the kunoichi's fingers, and rained down from the sky, falling upon her opponent's Kaiten. It was obvious that he was not as strong as Neji when he stopped spinning just a few mere seconds too early, and Tenten's weapons rained down upon him like rain in a torrential storm.

The kunoichi smirked as she flicked her hands, and water droplets exploded from the surface of the lake, a deadly mixture of water and metal. Her opponent, not accustomed to the particular attacks and the need to use his Heavenly Spin in such a quick succession, could only just dodge the smooth steel. He was not fast enough for Tenten- although he was a blur to Hitomi's eyes- and so many of the weapons nicked his skin in a myriad of places that drops of blood kissed the water's surface, and plunged down into the lake.

As she somersaulted back down to ground level, Tenten grabbed a pair of wickedly curved katana that were perfectly balanced and matched in every way.

"You won't need those," the youth smirked.

"Are you still brave enough to fight me?" she spun them in alternating directions, and he scoffed.

"Any time, freckles."

"I don't even have freckles, you idiot." Tenten laughed as his face was transformed with fury. He growled as he ran across the lake, his feet barely touching the water.

Their movements became blurred, and Hitomi couldn't keep track of what was happening- all she could hear was the ethereal peal of the katana, and all she could see was the bright flashes of blue chakra.

Suddenly, there was a halt, and Tenten and her opponent broke apart. The katana fell into the water a moment later, and Hitomi saw that Tenten's arm was hanging limp at her side.

"See- I told you they'd be useless." He said smugly.

"Seeing as you're the one who is looking the most useless now, I'd be more worried about myself if I were you," Tenten retorted, and charged at him again.

His techniques were somewhat lacking, Tenten mused as her body responded automatically. Neji's hits were dead accurate, and generated a guaranteed reaction every time. This boy's moves were too loose, and not as refined as Neji's had been at the age of thirteen… there!

Tenten saw her window of opportunity, and slammed the flat of the blade into his ribcage. He fell backwards into the water, winded and resurfaced, coughing and red. Tenten calmly bent and retrieved her katana from where it protruded in the lake bed and walked over to Hitomi without a backward glance. Her opponent simply huffed and stalked off.

The kunoichi joined Hitomi in the shade and the young Hyuuga set to work on her companion's sealed tenketsu.

"Thank you, Hitomi," Tenten sighed blissfully as she leaned on the tree. "I don't know where I'd be without you."

Hitomi smiled swiftly but resumed her serious, studious expression within moments. While Tenten could not see the veins surrounding Hitomi's eyes, she felt her chakra flow start again, much like one's limb becomes mobile after pins and needles.

"Who is he?"

"Well," Hitomi sighed, "His name is Hiro. He's my nephew- as in my older cousin's son. He believed, that as the Head Family's oldest male, he should have been the one to inherit everything. However, he is, I think… the fourth in line, behind Hinata-san, Hanabi-san and myself. He believes that women are not strong enough to rule…"

"He's a chauvinist pig," Tenten sighed. "I'll bet he thinks that challenging 'whores', such as myself, to impromptu fights will gain him the strength to defeat you, Hanabi and Hinata in battle."

Hitomi bit her lip.

"Well, actually, he is known for his arrogance… and his womanising ways. Several women who have been seen entering his room have left in the middle of the night, crying in immense pain."

"And he's a sadist, too, I see." Tenten said humourlessly. "Oh the world is a much better place when it's filled with people like him. It's a wonder why he's still alive."

"He's protected by his status as a Hyuuga."

Tenten sighed. "The marvellous corruptions of society," she muttered.

Hitomi remained naively puzzled.

"The world we live in is, unfortunately, not perfect. If it were- I wouldn't be a shinobi- or maybe I would. Well, the point is," Tenten continued after shaking her head, "is that bad people do exist. People like Hiro included… so you need to protect yourself from men like him, and not get burned by love."

"Like you? Does that make Neji a bad person, too?"

"…" Tenten was speechless. _Did_ the fact that Neji had kept his engagement from her make him a bad person? "That was different."

Hitomi tapped her temple. "You seem to think otherwise."

Tenten looked away. "It was never… love."

----x----

_Twelve days, twenty two hours, three minutes and forty seven seconds._

Neji tossed and turned in his bed, and kicked off the sheets. It was already the middle of summer, and the endless drone of cicadas made sleep a far destination. Meditation had not worked- neither had just trying to sleep, so Neji took option number 3- training.

Making his way silently to the courtyard, Neji began to expend and focus his chakra, and he began to strike the thick pillar strategically.

"Neji," A hand struck out, stilling his own.

"Hiashi-sama," Neji nodded curtly.

"Why are you out here?"

"I should ask you the same question."

"Neji," Hiashi sighed. "Come, walk with me."

Neji stopped abusing the pillar and walked with his uncle, the rush of endorphins going steadily to waste.

"What's been troubling you?" Hiashi asked. "Is it the wedding?"

"No," Neji replied sullenly.

"Is it Tenten?"

Only a stony silence and the sounds of the stifling summer night greeted his questioning.

"I see," Hiashi said, with a slight upturn of his mouth.

"It's not fair."

"Neji-"

"You don't get it!"

"Do you really believe that?"

Neji was taken aback, his own selfish desires still clouding his mind.

"I was also forced into an arranged marriage with your aunt. Being in the Head Family is not all as great as it can seem, Neji. I had to turn my back on the woman I had loved as a young man, to marry someone else. But I had known my place. I had told her that I was, in fact, to be married. She'd been hurt- but not as much as if I hadn't told her."

"Is that why you came out here? To punish me?"

"I came out here to make you understand that despite all that she does and says, Tenten is heartbroken because of what you've done to her. She trusted you, and you abused that trust for your own selfish means."

"Do you think I don't know that?" Neji demanded in a harsh voice.

Hiashi said nothing for several moments.

"Get some sleep, Neji." He said, and turned and vanished into the house.

----x----

Hitomi ran her hands over the full skirt of the dress, loving the feeling of the silk. Tenten pinned a diamond tiara into the silky white tresses, and arranged the veil.

Hinata and Hanabi sighed.

"That looks beautiful."

"Well, so do you!" Hitomi said, blushing.

"The bridesmaids are only there to compliment you- you're the one who is meant to stand out from everyone else in that church." Hanabi smiled, as she consulted the guest list. "Who's Susumu Takeshi?" She asked.

Tenten froze, and the veil fell from her fingers as she turned around.

"Susumu Takeshi?" she repeated. "Who invited him?"

"Haruka, I suppose- she arranged a lot of the guest list," Hinata replied for her sister. "Why? What's wrong, Tenten?"

Tenten bit her lip.

"I'll tell you later," she said, eying the dressmaker. "But for now, I need to get out of this dress."

"Why?" Hitomi asked, flipping the veil back from her face.

"I'm going back to Konoha." She opened Hitomi's wardrobe. "Hey Hitomi, do you have any dresses in here that aren't pink, black or white?"

"Why?"

"Dai would really appreciate it."

----x----

Tenten's fingers traced the camellia symbol carved ornately beneath the brassy number seven before knocking on the oak door.

It was jerked open, revealing the profile of a young man with navy hair, green eyes and clear skin.

"I'm terribly sorry- I'm actually in the middl-" He had finally turned to face his guest, a young woman, leaning nonchalantly in his doorway. The single shouldered dress she wore fluttered about her knees and moulded to the swell of her hip. The summer-sea coloured fabric was sheer and soft, the single sleeve whispering over her skin like a ghost.

"Hi," she greeted him. "I'm actually an old neighbour of yours. I was in town and I was actually wondering if you remembered me."

He smirked. "Well, come inside then. I might be able to remember if we talked over lunch."

Then, he seemed to remember his project and ran back into the house, leaving Tenten standing in the doorway. She laughed. It was rather typical of him. Without much else to do, the kunoichi walked in and locked the door behind her, leaving her bag on the small table beside the entrance.

The house itself was moderately furnished, with Daichi keeping to neutral colours except for the splash of green leaves from his various bonsai. Its grace lay in its austerity and simplicity- and Daichi was an expert at combining both. Here and there, various personal trinkets adorned dust free surfaces. Tenten's heart ached when she saw the camellia bonsai she had given him what seemed like a million years ago.

There was the occasional photograph of Daichi in his travels and but there was one that made her fully stop to admire. Within the wooden frame, a twelve year old Daichi smiled at the camera. But what had caught Tenten's attention was the people who stood beside him- his parents. Yori Kiyoshi was a kind man, filled with warmth and laughter.

Slipping out of her shoes, she followed her companion into his workroom.

"What are you working on?" Tenten asked.

Daichi turned away from the wire that he was spinning into a complex spiral that would eventually adorn a tiara.

Then, Tenten realized that something was strange. The furnace had only a few glowing coals within its smoky depths and yet the metal Daichi was twisting and turning upon itself smoothly as if it was white hot.

"What is that?" She breathed quietly.

"Memory-metal," Dai announced proudly. "It retains any shape that you'd care to twist it into and, with a touch of chakra, can transform into something else."

Tenten frowned. "So it's… like Gaara's sand… but metal?"

Daichi shrugged. "I guess so." He set the coronet back onto his workbench and sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. "What were we talking about?"

"Lunch?" Tenten supplied, without missing a beat.

A few hours later, after several sesame dumplings and a few cups of coffee followed by a rather large ice cream, they finally sat down and talked about things other than the past.

"So, Ten- why are you here?"

"Susumu Takeshi," she said bluntly. Daichi's friendly features hardened and his eyes turned as steely as metal, glinting with the inner fires of revenge.

"How?" he asked tersely.

"I don't know. He's going to be at my mistress' wedding next week, and I need you to help me. Can you?"

"You know I can't refuse anything you ask of me." Daichi smiled. "And also because you look very pretty in a dress, Ten."

"Dai- you haven't given me a flower yet either."

"Well, seeing as you no longer live across the road…"

"How is my mother, anyway?"

"You didn't see her?"

"No…" Tenten sighed. "I don't want her involved."

She accepted the cup of offered tea, and he sat down on the couch beside her.

"How have you been?"

"Not too bad."

"That's not what I meant. I heard about you and Hyuuga Neji."

"Who didn't?" she asked bitterly, and then bit her lip. "I didn't mean for it to come out like that."

"Like what?" he asked almost innocently, and Tenten smiled, leaning against his shoulder.

"You've always been good to me, Dai. I'm sorry I haven't really kept in touch that much over the last few years."

He smiled sadly.

"Well, I did move away- we did have our own dreams to chase…"

Tenten smiled, her expression matching his.

"We did…"

They sat in silence for a while.

"Okay- let's get started." He rubbed his hands together, and stood up. "What can I do for you, my lovely lily?"

"Oh, I had forgotten you used to call me that." She smiled.

----x----

She stayed long into the night, working on the creation with her childhood friend. She found his company soothing as they reminisced over old times.

When they'd finished, she collapsed onto the bed, Daichi beside her.

"Will you miss him?" he didn't need to elaborate on who 'he' was.

"I guess so," Tenten shrugged. "Sometimes… we can't get what we want. We're all twisted into this, and no-one really gets what they want." Daichi wrapped an arm around her and hugged her.

"How is this Hitomi girl?"

"Oh, you'd love her." Tenten smiled and met his hazel eyes. "She's cultured, intelligent, and beautiful sweet and softly spoken. Her innocence almost hurts me because I just need to protect it… but she has strength inside of her."

"Mmm?"

"Yeah…." Tenten yawned, her eyes watering, and Yoshiro yawned also. "How about you, Dai? Have you been stealing any girls' hearts with your flowers and sweet, first kisses?"

"None since you stole mine," he smiled as he stroked her cheek.

"We were thirteen- and you'd never been bothered by him. I think that, along with your lilies drew me the most." Tenten smiled in a soft, sad way. She would always love Daichi as a friend, though.

"Did you want to… come to the wedding with me?" she asked after a while.

"Are you sure? I'd feel awkward without an invite."

"Hitomi ordered me to invite someone to be my date." She smiled.

"Well, Ten, I would love to." He replied. "So… you still haven't answered my question about Hyuuga Neji. What did the two of you get up to- and don't act innocent, because it wouldn't have caused such a huge fuss if you were so completely innocent."

"Well…" Tenten avoided his eyes. "We kissed."

"And…?"

"Several times."

"And…?"

"And… nothing else!" Tenten laughed it off.

"You're not telling me something." Daichi's eyes were lit mischievously.

"You know me too well, and that's a curse sometimes."

Daichi smirked.

"Come on, hurry up and tell me- I've had to hear from gossipers like Sakura and Ino."

"Well… nothing _happened _– it was just that we got carried away in the heat of the moment."

"And how do you feel about him now?"

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "He lied to me, and played me like an idiot… but I still… I don't know-"

"There's just something that still ties your heart to his." Daichi finished for her. Tenten looked away guiltily and sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said, lamely, once again.

The two of them fell asleep on top of the covers mumbling sleepily as they remembered things from a honeyed youth.

When Tenten left Daichi's house the next morning (after a hot breakfast in bed), in the same dress and cream ballet flats, with a gift bag in one hand, a perfectly white and waxy lily tucked behind her left ear, a dreamily nostalgic smile that played about her lips. Neji was taken aback- he had not seen her that happy in a very long time.

"Tenten," Neji said softly, coming up beside her.

"Neji," Tenten inclined her head stiffly. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Walk with me," he replied, and Tenten sighed, knowing she didn't have a choice. He put his hand on her arm and they walked off together.

"Where are we going?"

"To the park… I need to tell you something."

They walked in silence.

"Kichiro wasn't the man we thought he was," Neji announced suddenly.

"What?" Tenten was shocked. They had stopped walking in the shade of the oak tree she had once sat under, folding paper shuriken.

"He sent a minion in his place. The man you had captured was silenced within an hour of being in jail."

Tenten bit her lip, and decided not to comment further on the issue- Neji seemed to have enough on his plate to worry about as it was.

"Well the thing is, Tenten… that I-" Neji hesitated. "Tenten, what I mean to say is…"

Tenten smiled, and Neji cursed inwardly. He sounded like every other insecure teenager.

"Just say it, Neji. I won't bite your head off." A week ago, it would have been a different situation.

Neji sighed.

"Well, Tenten, I am a selfish person."

"What a surprise." She said sarcastically. "Was I meant to protest and tell you that you're wrong?"

"No," Neji replied simply. "I only saw you as a means to an end- to just escape my cage for a brief moment- and I failed to realise the repercussions of that. After all of this goes down… I just want you to know that I am truly sorry."

Tenten remained silent as she stared over his shoulder.

"Are you still angry at me?"

"Yes," Tenten replied. "But I don't want to kill you as much these days. Grievously harm, perhaps, but not kill. Hitomi would probably kill me for getting blood splattered on her dress- the blood of her fiancé, no less."

"I don't expect you to forgive me-"

"Yes, you do!" She retorted. "You expect me to be stung along and tag along with you again, just like always! I'm eighteen, you're getting married to one of my friends and I am still so hurt that you never thought to tell me before I plunged headlong into this mess!"

She ran her hand through her hair, her fringe falling back into place as her bangs swept over her cheeks.

"I thought I was… helping you."

"Help?" She gave a disbelieving laugh. "I am sick to death of these conversations that we always have. We talk in circles and it always comes back to me being more insanely angry at you than ever. So, this is what I am going to do." Tenten took a deep breath and steadied her voice. "I am going to walk out of here and forget about everything that you did to me. I am going to move on and continue being Hitomi's … lady-in-waiting until she either moves into Konoha or you move into her castle, and sees fit to formally dismiss me. Either way, as soon as you are married, I will only ever be her friend, and … your team mate and colleague. I will find a place of my own and resume my career as a kunoichi of Konoha."

"And after that?"

"What I do after that, Hyuuga-san, is not your business," she informed him coldly, and walked out of the shadow of the oak tree.

----x----

Meanwhile, Hanabi and Hinata had been training Hitomi in the moves of the Jyuuken and of the spinning and chakra control required to perform the Kaiten. They'd found she had a natural talent… but she lacked both the drive and confidence. Hinata sighed.

"I don't know how to say this, Hitomi, but…"

"Am I a disappointment to you?"

Hinata started. "Of course not," she said in a deadly serious voice.

"Then what is it?"

"You need to think, long and hard. I can tell you are not happy with the moves of the Kaiten- and you need to know your own strength before you develop your own techniques. Because of my natural flexibility, I was able to come up with my own ultimate defence that was not the Kaiten- and I think you have the ability to do that, if you think harder about your strengths."

Hitomi nodded, and the two began their spar once again. Hanabi watched from the shade of a chestnut tree, and Tenten joined her from the shadows.

"She needs her own style. She seems to hate everything other than weapons- your work, I suppose?" Hanabi said after a while.

"I guess. But it's good that she's learning the definitive style of the Hyuuga."

"Predictability kills people."

"It does," Tenten agreed amiably. "So," she said, leaning back on the tree, "How have you been, Hanabi? Do you have any prospective boyfriends?"

Hanabi snorted in an unladylike fashion.

"Boyfriend? If I was ever to have one, he'd need to outgrow the maturity of a single celled organism."

Tenten smiled.

"They don't grow out of it, unfortunately," she said. "We just have to make do with the second best thing."

"A single celled organism?" Hanabi asked.

Tenten laughed dryly, and the sound attracted Hitomi and Hinata's attention. It was nearing midday, and both girls were tired.

They stopped, and all went inside for lunch- and the day passed without incident, seeing as Haruka was still in Konoha. The sisters returned to the hidden village after their meal, leaving Tenten alone with Hitomi.

"Oh," Tenten said as she combed Hitomi's hair free of its tangles after the girl had bathed. "I made you this, in Konoha. Well, with some help, actually."

"Thank you," Hitomi breathed as she fingered the tiara and matching bracelet. "It's beautiful." Tenten pushed the hairpiece into her hair, and Hitomi watched it sparkle in the mirror. Catching Tenten's eye, she asked, "Help from whom?"

Tenten sighed. They both knew the answer, but Hitomi just wanted the satisfaction of Tenten admitting that his name had been running around in her head all day.

"You're too fast for your own good, Hitomi." She smiled. "Do you remember how I told you about the boy who used to live across the road from me? Well, when he was about sixteen, his parents were out in the country, selling their wares, when they were ambushed by some men, and killed for the expensive jewels that they had created. The man who had killed them is the same man who I thought I had put in jail- Kazuki Kichiro, a man of many names. He is also known to my friend as Susumu Takeshi."

Hitomi gasped.

"Do you think my mother knows?"

"I don't think so, although Takeshi isn't the name he uses the most- he is currently most well known as Kichiro… but seeing as he's killed his servant in his place… I don't even know _why_ he's coming to the wedding."

----x----

_Twelve hours, fifteen minutes and two seconds. _

The night before the wedding, Hanabi visited Neji, who was staring moodily out at the star sprinkled sky.

"That won't make them stop shining, you know," she said dryly, and Neji turned slightly, acknowledging her presence.

"Why don't you go annoy someone else, Hanabi?"

"Because," Hanabi replied with a smug smile. "It's so much better when I get a reaction out of you!"

"Thanks," Neji replied sardonically.

"Any time."

Hanabi bit her lip, as if wondering what to say. Neji felt the tension raise a notch.

"Just say it, Hanabi."

"Tomorrow, at the wedding. Well, more like on your wedding night… don't push her into it." She said quietly. "She's much too scared of the fact that she's getting married tomorrow- don't push her into doing something she doesn't want to do- you'd be the end of her, and she'll have just lived out her life as merely a tool, for others' benefits."

Neji turned, startled, but Hanabi had already left.

----x----

Meanwhile, Hinata and Tenten were trying unsuccessfully to calm down Hitomi, who was in the middle of a massive panic attack- almost to the point of thinking about just not even getting out of bed the next morning, or ever. She was lying in this said bed; crying and not even Tenten and Hinata's attempts seemed to be getting her out.

Hinata, meanwhile, found several scented candles with angelica inside, and lit them, creating a calm and peaceful mood. A calm and peaceful mood, quickly shattered by Hitomi's tantrum.

"I don't want to do this, Tenten- I can't!" she flung back the covers as she spoke. "I can't take this," she said, pressing the tiara back into her hands. "I can't take anymore of any of this!"

Tenten sighed. This had been plaguing the younger Hyuuga's mind for the past four weeks- she'd cried herself to sleep every single night, and it seemed like the tears were close to anguish.

"I don't want to be getting married!" she cried. "I'm fifteen! I'm meant to be spending my time shopping or just even _gossiping _with my friends right now! I'm not even meant to know half of the things I know because all I've ever wanted was a normal life, to live as a normal child! But no! I am a caged bird, for life- and as of next week, a married woman- more like a brood sow! I'll hate everything about it! Tenten- I can't do this! I can't go out tomorrow in that beautiful white dress, with everyone staring at me, to marry a complete stranger who has hurt you so badly like this!" Hitomi took a deep shuddering breath, and Tenten placed her hands on her shoulders.

"Hitomi- listen to me." She said calmly. "You will be fine- I promise you! I will be just behind you, every step of the way, and you don't have to worry about a thing. Neji will treat you like a man should- he can be quite a gentleman, as in his blood. I will always be there to help you, no matter what time of the day."

"Really?" Hitomi sniffed blearily.

"What are friends for?" she teased back, and rubbed the girl's back. "You'll be fine, I promise. And everyone will be blown away by your beauty in an instant."

"Thanks, Tenten." Hitomi smiled, and Tenten only smiled in response, although her heart ached for her friend.

"Now, come on- let's go get your face washed, and then you can get your beauty sleep- we don't want you looking tired tomorrow when Neji-nii-san first sees you, okay?" Hinata helped her cousin out of the bed, and Tenten took the tea set down to the kitchen with a sigh.

----x----

The morning of the wedding dawned cool and sunny. It was the 3rd of July; Neji's birthday, Tenten noted wistfully. Three months ago, she'd been worrying about not having weapons. Today, she was worrying about a wedding- Neji's wedding… to Hitomi, no less.

She had fought her own battles that morning, long before the sun had risen- before Hitomi had woken to try and guess her thoughts.

Her own inner demons, over Neji, over the wedding, and Daichi had come up to the surface of her mind, and she had run out into the forest to escape them all, and ended up decimating quite a large area of trees. The several hundred stumps, all smoothed and level, bore the marks of her bloodied hands, weapons and fire.

The kunoichi arrived back at the castle with scratches all up and down her arms, and soon began fussing over Hitomi as she woke, looking wan and sickly, and preparing her for the wedding at nine o'clock.


	10. The Wedding

**E: I have dreaded this. **

**Paper Shuriken**

**The Wedding**

_Eight minutes, thirty four seconds. _

"Neji!" Hanabi snapped. "Stop fidgeting!" Neji sighed, and drew his eyes away from the clock. His cousin was looking resplendent in a slinky lilac gown that was simple in its design- it was strapless, with some kind of sequin or beaded detailing at the hem, slinking around the body of the wearer in loops and flowers.

"There- all done. Now, get to that altar, and pretend like you're happy. Try not to ogle at Tenten too much- you're here to marry Hitomi, after all." Hanabi said at the door, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Neji barely heard her.

It was the best day anyone could have wished to have their wedding on. The sky was flawlessly blue without a cloud in sight, the air was dry but warm, and a light breeze tempered the summer heat. Within the church, the air was still and cool, but the mahogany wood sucked all the sunlight streaming in from the windowpanes into shadow.

It was a terrible, terrible experience, waiting and waiting. Then, the organ began to play, and the two little flower girls in their puffy white dresses walked down the white carpet with their baskets of red rose petals, so dark that they looked like drops of blood. And then… she came. Tenten, looking so beautifully untouchable and so carelessly exquisite that he just wished, with all of his heart, that it was _her _walking down that carpet in a white dress- and not hanging upon Uchiha Sasuke's arm, but Gai's.

He sighed in his mind. His best man and groomsmen had, like all other aspect of his wedding, been chosen by Hiashi and Haruka.

As she turned her back to him, Neji's eyes slid down her back. The sleek fabric clung to the panes of her back and the curve of her hips. Everyone near the two seemed to sense the unhappy and uncomfortable tension between them- the other members of the old Rookie Nine in the pews also sensed the discomfiting awkwardness between them, and murmurs in the crowd began to grow louder.

Hyuuga Hitomi entered the church in her resplendent white gown, and there was a collective sigh. Neji found himself just thinking about Tenten in that dress… Her form, lithe and slim, moved with a fluid grace, and her veil was pinned into her elaborately coiled hair with a sparkling tiara. The remainder of her silken tresses flowed like a wave of mahogany silk down to almost her knees, but did not cover the elaborate bow that pulled her dress taut at the back, along with the long train.

Brown? No- Hitomi, as Neji now saw, had silver hair. She was not, as much as his heart wanted her to be, Tenten. It hit him like a pile of bricks just how much he had taken Tenten's presence for granted. She'd always been there, and he had always assumed that she would remain so, like the comforting warmth of a blanket.

She handed her bouquet to Hinata, and Neji took her hand in his own. She didn't seem very scared to be married- contrary to what Hanabi had said.

"Dearly beloved," the minister began, "We are gathered here today…"

This was it. He was actually getting married.

Tenten had already seen her target as she'd walked in- he was standing, in fact, at the back at the church. Kazuki Kichiro… Susumu Takeshi- meet your doom…

The target seemed to know her murderous intentions and began to walk slowly towards the door, trying to look inconspicuous.

Tenten ground her teeth. She had to strike _now_! Moving her hand to the back of the dress (which made breathing quite hard), Tenten eased a poisoned senbon out from the folds of silk, every movemennt tense and precise. In a swift, practised motion, the senbon left her slender fingertips, and her target fell to the ground.

"Tenten?" Neji whispered. She was the only person who could throw a senbon a hundred meters and make it look that easy. Of course, things weren't making sense now. Why had the woman, in the white dress standing opposite him, just moved exactly the way Tenten would if she had thrown a senbon at someone?

Haruka stood angrily, her face flustered. Her feather lined collar was ruffled and Neji had never seen anyone else look more like a bird.

"What is the meaning of this, Hitomi?" she demanded. Several members of the crowd activated their Byakugan- although it was considered taboo and rude at such a formal occasion- and Kichiro's men dove into action.

Neji was shocked- which was a feat, considering his line of work. His future wife had just killed someone in broad daylight- for no apparent reason! The church was plunged into darkness, and Neji scoffed. It was a stupid technique, really- all Hyuugas could see in the dark, so it would be useless to target them. Unless the target was not really a Hyuuga.

"Tenten!" Neji called. She did not respond. He activated his bloodline limit, and saw his bride for the first time. She was cloaked in an illusion, and standing in Tenten's place. Still confused, he looked back to the woman in the white dress- who was actually _Tenten_, disguised as Hitomi.

Tenten/Hitomi grabbed the bouquet from Hinata, who had long since activated her Byakugan. Neji grabbed her arm and tore the veil away, letting her silvery tresses fall to frame her face.

"Tenten!" he growled roughly, and, with a sigh and in a cloud of white smoke, Tenten changed back to her normal appearance. "What are you doing?" He asked.

There was the sound of people running towards them, and Tenten pushed Neji away, preparing to fight.

"I'm protecting _her." _she replied simply, and pulled out a pair of scrolls.

Men rushed at "Tenten" only to find that she could sense them like they could sense her- what's more was that her eyes were not auburn, as their master had said, but white. She had the eyes of a Hyuuga.

"I'm not your average Hyuuga, either," she said, and changed into a silver haired woman. Before they could realise their mistake, she slew them with curved blades of pure chakra. Then, she saw a familiar face.

"Hiro?"

"Princess," Hiro bowed mockingly. "I must confess, your wedding dress looks exquisite. It's just too bad that that _whore_ is wearing it."

"It was _you_, wasn't it? You sold us out to Takeshi?!"

Neji was still, somewhere in the corner of his mind, mildly surprised. He had expected some kind of sweet, whimsical woman who had needed to be protected, and cared for- as everyone had seemed to describe. But she was not the target - Tenten was, for some strange reason.

Then, it hit him. He hadn't realised it at the time, because he'd never heard the name before…

"_Neji- you look absolutely horrific- go outside and play- leave the planning to us." Haruka commanded imperiously. "As I was saying, I wanted Susumu Takeshi invited as well as…"_

That had been minutes before the mission- and, somehow, his aunt knew a very dangerous man. A dangerous man who seemed to be targeting Tenten. The Hyuuga understood in an instant- he had seen her when they'd first come to his castle, and had wanted her… it was all too clear now.

Hitomi screamed in rage and Hiro took up his Jyuuken stance. He had so much more experience than she did. Hitomi's concentration faltered and the pain in the church threatened to overwhelm her. People were dying. She didn't stand a chance… but she couldn't let him know. The Hyuuga steeled her mind and put her hands up again.

Hiro smirked.

"What are you going to do?" Hiro sneered. "With hands like that, you can only-" The young Hyuuga stopped as he saw the chakra within her flare with a deadly intent. The veins around her eyes shimmered like silver and her mouth was set in a grim line.

"Little girls first," she smiled.

Tenten's fingers flew as she formed specific seals. The scrolls burst open in a pair of twining dragons made not of smoke, but of fire. They illuminated not only her, but her enemies; mesmerised by the creatures they had deemed mythical. Then, the weapons began to fall. Even though they seemed to be made of fire and easy to see, they were inescapable. How their bearer seemed to know friend from foe, no one seemed to know either- they could only think of the fact that human hands could create such a magnificent technique.

Hitomi was tiring- and so was Hiro. However, he _was_ winning. Both of them had lost the use of one arm, and Hitomi was limping from sealed tenketsu, Hiro from numerous cuts. Hitomi's technique needed her chakra flow to be precise and flowing, and her chakra blades were faltering.

"You're such a princess," Hiro said scathingly. "You're not fit to defend yourself, let alone oversee the running of a shinobi clan!"

Hitomi had been backed up against a wall, her heartbeat was raising and her pupils were dilated. Hiro moved in for the kill, when a burning sensation seared his arm. When he cleared his eyes of tears and looked up, Hitomi wielded a katana with flames dancing upon the blade. Tenten and Hitomi locked eyes in that instant, and the young Hyuuga nodded in thanks.

Hitomi's fingers twitched, and Hiro felt himself kneel upon the floor, amidst rubble and blood.

"I don't…" He gasped. "I don't understand!"

Hitomi took one hand off the hilt of the katana and he finally saw the slim wires that had once been her bracelet. With tiny flecks of chakra running through the metal, the wires cut at his skin and the blood soaked his trousers as she pulled him towards her with minimal effort. Hiro tried to struggle, but the wires were everywhere, binding his hands and legs. He couldn't even see them.

"Predictability kills people," she whispered in his ear. He stilled, and Hitomi slammed her elbow against his temple, knocking him unconscious. "But I can't kill family." She spat the blood from her mouth onto the floor, and walked away.

Above her, the dragons took flight, although the deadly mix of fire and metal continued to fall from the kunoichi's fingertips. They burst through the doors, letting in the light, and the congregation surged out of the church. Within minutes, the battle was over, and the minister stood from behind the lectern at which he'd been hiding.

Tenten, panting, fell back down to the carpet, her descent also causing the red scrolls to fall with her. Her hands continued to twitch, and Neji noted that there were still several sparks that ran up and down her fingers.

The kunoichi looked for her friends- it seemed like everyone else had been drawn elsewhere in their battle, and had left the church- only she, Neji and Hitomi remained. The other Hyuuga had blood upon her fingers and on the hem of her dress, but Neji looked relatively clean- like he always did, even after battle, Tenten thought dryly.

She looked at the minister, thin and balding. Tenten rose, still panting.

"Are you alright, sir?"

"What's that?"

Tenten took a few more steps towards him.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, child. I am." He put a warm hand on her shoulder. Then, in a swift move, he pulled her towards him, pulling her head back by her brown locks. He exposed her neck, and pressed the blade to her skin.

"Both of you!" He barked, "come here, or I'll slit her throat."

Both Hyuugas dropped their instinctive stances. They could only stare up at the assassin's hostage.

"Who are you?" Tenten whispered.

"Who am I?" The priest laughed harshly. "I'm the one you tried to kill. I'm the one who killed the jewelers. I'm the one your mother hired to make sure that, no matter what, Tenten disappeared and you two married."

The illusion fell away and Susumu Takeshi, Kazuki Kichiro, was revealed in his masterstroke.

"Why?" Hitomi whispered, a tear rolling down her face. "Why would she do that?"

"Hyuuga Haruka has her own ideas in which way the clan should head. Hitomi's abilities of insight are extraordinary- she easily could become the most influential woman in the Hyuuga Clan. Neji has inherited the strongest of the Hyuuga talent in his generation, surpassing the heirs of the clan. Surely their progeny would be even more powerful, with the combination of their exceptional talents. I guess it's just too bad that Haruka won't live to see her grandchildren." A drop of blood rolled down Tenten's neck like a sliver of a ribbon. "Do you know what she promised me, in return?"

He looked at Tenten and licked the side of her face, tasting both her sweat and fear.

"She told me that I could have you." He sneered. "Anywhere I wanted, any way that I cared to imagine. I will look forward to the future, my sweet."

Tenten's blood froze within her veins and she stopped breathing. She needed to stop him. Hitomi would need to buy her more time. That was all that she needed to focus her chakra again.

"Now, you two are going to obey, or this could get very bloody." Takeshi said, quietly, maliciously. Hitomi nodded mutely, and Neji's eyes betrayed his anguish. This could not be happening. Not like this.

"Do you, Hyuuga Neji, take this woman, Hyuuga Hitomi, to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do," Neji replied firmly, his eyes never leaving Tenten's as she blinked away tears of bitterness and pain.

"Do you, Hyuuga Hitomi, take this man, Hyuuga Neji, to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I…"

"Hitomi- just do it!" Tenten ground out through gritted teeth.

"I can't, Tenten." Hitomi sighed, her tears falling to the ground. "I can't do this to you."

Neji watched the kunoichi's hands, the sparks becoming more and more frequent. Blue flames took the place of the sparks, and Hitomi gasped.

"Say it!" The minister demanded, and he tightened his hold on the kunoichi. Another ribbon of blood trickled its way down her throat, and Tenten's breath caught.

A breeze blew through the church, and it lifted the scroll to Tenten's fingertips. The final weapon was summoned, and, in an instant, flames burst into life on the kunoichi's hands as it reacted to the touch of the kunai. Tenten slammed her heel into Takeshi's shin, simultaneously elbowing his shoulder. The blade was flung into the dusty shadows of the altar, quickly forgotten. Turning, she gave Takeshi a final gift- death. His flesh seared before the metal cut through skin, veins and tissue. His agonized scream was cut short with a wet gurgle, and all was silent again.

Tenten stood, the white dress rumpled and bloodstained and looked at Hitomi for an instant before hugging her fiercely.

"I am so proud of you." she whispered. "You did well. How are you feeling?"

"It'll take me a while… but… I think I'll be fine."

The two girls smiled, relieved for only a moment.

"You're bleeding," Neji said, coming up to Tenten. He put his hand on her shoulder as he wiped the blood away with a sky blue handkerchief.

"It's only a scratch," Tenten shrugged with a nonchalant smile. She looked up into Neji's eyes, and the smile died away.

"Hitomi!" Haruka's agonised screech echoed through the church. Tenten and Neji broke apart, and the three at the altar turned to the source of the voice and saw Haruka staggering down the carpet, bleeding from fatal wounds.

"Mother!" Hitomi gasped, and ran up to her mother, and helped her walk.

"Get away from her, Hitomi!" Tenten said fiercely. "She was involved in this! She was the one who hired Kichiro!"

"He was lying!" she said, not noticing the blood that was staining her dress yet again. She was in denial, and she knew it. "She's my _mother_ Tenten! I _know_ that there's an explanation for everything- you can't just trust what he said!"

"You… bitch!" Haruka stumbled up the stairs, her eyes wild and desperate. She only saw Tenten as she pulled out a bloody knife from a body. She only say Tenten in her daughter's dress, Tenten beside her daughter's husband and his smell lingering over her skin. Haruka finally took a wide, flailing swipe at the kunoichi. By some chance, the blade glanced over Tenten's arm, leaving a long gash as the kunoichi ducked under the arm. She swept out her leg and Haruka tripped, stumbling backwards.

Hitomi cried out, but it was too late. The knife slipped between Haruka's ribs, and her eyes clouded as she met her daughter's eyes.

"I had my own dreams," she whispered. "You… would have governed the clan, Hitomi." Hitomi keened lowly as her mother's eyes became dull and lifeless, more of her salty tears falling onto cheeks that no longer felt the cold. Not even a thought of love had run through her mother's mind.

Tenten took her friend in her arms.

"Hitomi," she murmured as the younger girl sobbed. "I'm so sorry…"

With a scream, Hitomi pushed her away and ran out of the church.

Neji and Tenten looked at each other for a few moments.

"Tenten, I-"

"Save it, Neji." Tenten sighed. "Today… has been far too long as it is. It's only nine thirty seven, and I'm covered in blood."

Neji nodded, and Tenten sighed, inspecting her hands, still covered in racing sparks.

"You took a big risk today, Tenten." Hiashi's voice rang out clearly through the church.

"Hiashi-san!" She gasped, turning away from Neji.

"Tenten, there is something I need you to know." He said quietly as he approached them at the altar. "Haruka… has long been a corrupt woman. She came to me, and I thought that I could believe her sincerity. Her intentions went marrying her daughter to my nephew, despite what she had told me."

"And now… I've hurt the one person I had never intended to harm."

"None of this was your fault. Kichiro decided to turn around and backstab his client, and run away with you, leaving the Hyuuga clan to deal with many a loss in the wake of the wedding. Why he chose to demand that you two marry, no one will ever know."

"But… if I had never…" Tenten tried to protest.

"It was not your fault. If any one is to blame, it is me. I should have known." Hiashi said softly, his head bowed.

"I'm still sorry that this happened." She said softly. "I shouldn't have attacked him in the open- I just had no idea if he would stay… and I never knew that he was a decoy."

"He was a criminal- he was wanted, anyway." Hiashi said quietly. "I suggest you two leave the church." He said after a moment. "I would like to be left alone for a while."

The two complied with his request, shutting the mahogany doors behind them.

Outside, the sun still shone and the light breeze still played around with their hair, bringing them the scent of a warm summer morning. Nothing had changed, but everything had changed. Death had been the price to pay to see birds freed from their cages.

They walked down the steps, and Tenten began to shake, shivers chasing themselves stupid across her skin, regardless of the heat. She knelt in the grass and put her hands over her ears, entangling her fingers in the large curls of her hair.

"What have I done, Neji?" she asked numbly, her tears falling into the blades of grass. "I killed my best friend's mother! I have killed countless others and it wasn't like this- I do this for a _living_, Neji- so why am I like this? Why _now_?"

Neji gently took her cheek in his hands, and tilted her chin up so she looked into his eyes. Staring down into the kunoichi's auburn ones, he could sense her hurt, confusion and pain.

"It wasn't your fault," he said softly after a moment of thought. Her hiccuping breaths mingled with his steady ones.

"I could have-"

"There was nothing you could do in that situation." Neji said firmly, kissing her gently, savouring the taste of her lips. Soon, the taste of her tears intermingled with the sweetness of it all, and she broke away.

"I … Neji, I…" Tenten couldn't hold in her sobs any longer, and clung onto him like her life depended on his, and cried for the longest time.

----x----

That night, Neji took Tenten back to the Hyuuga compound in Konoha. No one seemed to notice her, too dazed over the events that had taken place that morning. Not only had they been betrayed by their own blood, some had died in the foray of those intense few minutes of battle. The deep silence of shock and grief seemed to lie over the corridors and it was deafening. It seemed to sap what little strength Tenten had regained since that morning and she couldn't help but feel it was her fault.

They were walking through the gardens again, in the cooling summer afternoon, hidden by still shadows. Tenten was still wearing Hitomi's dress, and it was rumpled, torn and bloodstained. Neji, on the other hand, looked as fresh as he had when he'd first put on his tuxedo. The kunoichi ran her fingers through the folds of white silk, so pristine that morning and now… tainted, ruined and torn.

"Tenten?" Neji's voice was taut, controlled. "How are you feeling?"

"Not very good," she confessed softly. "Not yet. I will be, though."

"Do you want to know something?" Neji asked after a while. He took her hand gently, and Tenten stared.

"What?" she asked, cautiously.

"When I saw you walk down that carpet looking like Hitomi, I wished that it was you."

"I don't think she would have appreciated your fidelity as a married man, Neji." Tenten replied wryly.

"It was an arranged marriage- they usually turn out loveless. I'm pretty sure she would have understood," Neji said with a shrug.

Tenten punched him, her knuckles meeting his shoulder with a sharp electrical jolt. The hair on the back of his neck rose as he smirked down at her. The kunoichi shook the spark from her fingers and glared up at him.

"Ass," she muttered under her breath. "So I guess you've decided that love isn't a prerequisite to a marriage?"

"It isn't." Neji shrugged. "It's not necessary to love someone before you marry them- and it's not necessary to marry someone when you love them."

"That's rich, coming from you!"

"Tenten," Neji leaned in closer.

Tenten stilled as she caught his scent. They'd done nothing but sit in the shade of that oak tree that day. Tenten hadn't wanted to go home- and neither had Neji. It had been precious time, stolen in a world of chaos. They hadn't spoken much… but that time had been enough. Their skin smelled earthy, like grass, hiding the tang of blood. It reminded Tenten of their afternoons; times lying within the sparse grass in the light of the setting sun, the both of them covered in sweat after training. And suddenly…

Suddenly, Hyuuga Neji was kissing her.

He was kissing her- just for the sake of it. Because he wanted to. Tenten wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands found her hips. Their lips had met with a desperate passion, yearning for so, so much more. Neji's arm held her firmly against his warm skin, while his other hand tangled gently with her hair. Tenten leaned against him willingly, groaning slightly as their kiss deepened. Something told her that stolen kisses in his garden wouldn't always suffice, much like paper shuriken.

But they would do, for now.

**This is, technically, the end. However, there is still the epilogue that I must **_**re-edit**_**; however, it is not essential to the plot. **


	11. Epilogue

**E: Hmm… well, I must say, this has been a wonderful****, nostalgic journey. This one has a lot of clichés. A fluffy, semi OOC epilogue, dedicated to**** cyberwolf, starlight-15 and tomboy901, as before. **

**Paper Shuriken**

**Epilogue **

Tenten, with some help from Neji, finally got out of Hitomi's dress and gratefully took advantage of the bubble bath that Neji had drawn for her. The water was just the right temperature. She smiled as Neji walked in- he'd taken the dress to be dry cleaned.

"You know far too much about bubble baths," Tenten sighed as she scrubbed at her skin. She felt all of the tension and stress drain from her body with every moment spent in the luxuriant, ceramic tub.

"Well, I know that you like them. And that they're good for de-stressing." He took off the jacket and hung it on a hook behind the door. He sat down on a small stool beside the tub and Tenten reached out, untying his bow after a moment of watching him struggle without a mirror. She sank beneath the bubbles for a few seconds, resurfacing with a sigh as she ran her fingers through her locks.

"What's wrong?" Tenten asked, upon seeing his expression.

"It's nothing." He shrugged.

Tenten smiled deviously. "You look like you need some de-stressing," She suggested, watching him unbutton his shirt.

"I'll pass this time," Neji smirked. "I have a few things to organize."

"What for?" Tenten frowned.

"It's nothing, really. I'll be back when you're done."

Neji shut the bathroom door and sighed heavily before hesitantly picking up the phone.

"Sakura, I have a favour to ask…"

Tenten finally finished blow drying her hair about forty five minutes later, and walked into an empty room. She looked around and shrugged, donning the towelling robe Neji had given her.

A few minutes later, a showered and fully dressed Neji entered the room with a few things in a boutique bag. He stopped and stared at her for a few moments before handing her a bundle wrapped in white tissue paper.

"Think of it as a belated birthday gift."

"If I remember correctly, the gift that you gave me for my eighteenth birthday was more than public enough." Tenten replied sarcastically.

Neji just shrugged.

Tenten smiled as she unwrapped the packaging. It was a silvery mint green cocktail dress made of a soft fabric that seemed to slide through Tenten's fingers as it shimmered in the light.

"I'd love to think that you went out and bought this for me." Tenten laughed.

"Well, I paid for it." Neji added after a moment, "but I'm offended that you believe that I have no taste."

"You don't have any sort of fashion sense," Tenten replied bluntly. "Kenichi does, however." She smiled as she thought fondly of the quirky shop assistant. Tenten took a step back to admire the cut of the fabric. "So- what's the occasion?"

"It's my birthday. What else?" Neji smirked as Tenten rolled her eyes.

----x----

A few hours later (after dinner and a fair bit of full fat ice cream), the pair arrived at Dusk- a new establishment in one of the backstreets of Konoha. It was fashionable and completely exclusive. The line outside was so long that it extended around the block, and Tenten and Neji smiled and smirked (respectively) at the displays of outrage when they were given immediate admission.

Inside, the walls had been painted indigo. There were a lot of small alcoves and nooks, and the loft was strictly reserved for important guests. By some miracle, Neji had managed to secure the loft space for the evening.

The loft was raised about ten metres up, and was accessed by black stairs on either side of the room. It had another bar and more comfortable and less worn couches, with fashionable suede or leather covered ottomans that doubled as stools.

It was nearing eleven thirty, and already there were many familiar faces- Sakura, Ino, Temari, Hinata and Naruto, just to name a few. The former pair came to see Neji and Tenten.

"Hey, Neji!" Sakura smiled. "This was a great idea! I never knew that you could get us _all_ into Dusk, let alone the loft!"

The Hyuuga shrugged.

"It's an amazing party." Ino added belatedly. "Happy birthday!" She pointed to a table, laden with large presents. "You'll find that some are… more suitable as wedding gifts, but I suppose they'll do for a couple."

Sakura elbowed the blonde with a plastered smile on her face, and they waved goodbye before joining the larger crowd on the floor.

"You look wonderful in that dress," a familiar voice drawled.

Tenten gave a dry laugh as she turned to face Kenichi. "It's easy for you to say- you're the one who picked it out!" She kissed him lightly on both cheeks before hugging him tightly. "It's good to see you, Ken!"

"Step back and show us the dress," he snapped. "It looked alright on the manikin, but I suppose it looks better on you," he commented dismissively. "Turn around…"

Neji could not help but admire the way that the dress seemed to wrap around her form, softening her curves. It was backless and the hem swished about her knees, offering glimpses of tanned skin. There was a thin layer of silvery lining beneath the green chiffon that reflected the dim light. A jagged crystal shard, with her name and a camellia engraved on opposite sides, hung on her neck while several slim bangles adorned her wrists.

"You look gorgeous, darling." Kenichi stopped a passing waiter and the three took the offered flutes of champagne. "To a wonderful dress and an equally wonderful... kunoichi," he toasted, and they drank in Tenten's honour. "Happy birthday," Kenichi added, with a ginger pat on Neji's shoulder. "Strange thing to offer at an eighteenth birthday party," Kenichi muttered to himself, before taking another sip and wandering off.

"Kenichi?" Tenten placed the glass back onto the bar.

"As soon as he found out, he insisted that I invite him." Neji shrugged, and placed his drink next to hers. "Come on; let's go back down."

The beat of the music thrummed through Tenten's body as soon as she walked back into the crowd. A stranger stepped in front of Tenten with a lustful look in his eye, but Neji shoved him away before he could speak. Tenten looked down to hide her smile. The Hyuuga pulled her close to his body, and she instinctively wrapped her arms loosely about his neck.

"I suppose I get a little bit more freedom, as opposed to the last time we did this." Neji suggested coyly, his hands beginning to slip from her waist. The look Tenten gave him told him, quite clearly, that he would probably be forced to reattach his own hands later, should they stray any further.

"I think I could be getting used to those looks," Neji smirked as he leaned in to kiss her.

Like last time, Tenten tugged sharply on his hair, forcing his head back- and his lips away from hers.

Her lips swept briefly over his skin and Neji's temporary discomfort was absolved as she released her grip on his locks. So, his lesson learned, Neji kept his hands on her hips, swaying rhythmically with the music.

"Later, after this…" In spite of the loud music, Tenten heard every word. "I have something to show you."

"What is it?"

"If I told you now, it would defeat the purpose of a surprise, wouldn't it?"

Tenten smiled up at him. "I guess it would."

Later that night, the wedding cake was cut. Neji noted that the plastic bride and groom had been removed, and replaced with eighteen candles. Confetti and glitter was raining from the ceiling, falling onto skin, and entangling in hair.

Tenten smiled as she combed her fingers through his hair, almost laughing at the cascade of paper and glitter that had found a place in his locks.

Neji was glad that the glitter and the cake were almost all gone when they left the club at around two thirty the next morning. Tenten was feeling rather helpless in Neji's arms as he walked- the amount of dancing Sakura and Ino had forced her into had left her limping with blistered feet. Neji hadn't been able to abide by it, and insisted on carrying her back, with one hand supporting her back and the other hooked behind her knees. Her arms were draped instinctively around his neck, and she sighed, her lips grazing his collarbone, and her eyes fluttered shut.

"Thanks, Neji." She said softly when Neji put her down. She rubbed her eyes as she opened them. "Where are we?"

"This is my new house- Hiashi-sama bought it for me, as a wedding gift." Neji looked around. The furnishings were simple and austere, and of a neutral palette. Tenten placed her silver heels on the floor.

"It looks nice." Tenten said quietly. "Will you keep it?"

"Yes," Neji replied, taking the weapons expert into his arms, folding them around her as she leaned into the curve of his body.

Tenten was almost dozing quite comfortably, her head raising and lowering with Neji's chest, and she felt his heart pound beside her ear.

"Tenten?"

"Mmm?" she looked up at him, and he gently slid a finger beneath her chin to raise her mouth to his, gently gathering her into his arms. They broke apart, and Tenten languidly met his eyes. They held fiery sparks, and the sight of them sent tingles running up and down her spine. He kissed her again, the passion of them rising to meet the emotions he felt inside, and Tenten responded in kind.

Neji stood, and Tenten with him, their lips still entwined. Her hands were on his shoulders and his hands rested upon her hips, his grip firm and sure.

Tenten let herself be guided to Neji's bedroom, her mind only on Neji, and his mind only upon her.

They broke apart, hesitating, and avoiding looking at the bed.

After a moment, Tenten spoke.

"So, Neji- do you have any other secret girlfriends, fiancées, wives, arranged marriages I should know about?"

Neji detected the slight bitterness in her voice, but she did not move away from him.

"There is," he whispered, "nothing in my mind other than you, Tenten."

Tenten cracked up in laughter, her eyes lighting up.

"I don't think I expected _that_ one." She sighed and rubbed her hands across his shoulders.

"You make it sound like I have no heart sometimes."

"I used to wonder…" Tenten smiled. "… especially when I found out about Hitomi."

"So how long are you going to hold this against me?"

"Um… for as long as I can…" Tenten murmured as Neji leaned closer to her. Her eyelids lowered, and she cleared her throat. "I mean," she said, her eyes snapping open once again. "You only kept the fact that you were going to be married from me- I don't think that it's so much of a big deal, after a month, right?" She said sarcastically. "You'll just have to keep making it up to me." She smiled.

"And for how much longer will I have to keep this up?"

"Oh," she smiled, her fingers tracing the veins upon his wrist, "just until I say so."

"Well I'll see what I can do, then." Neji smirked and leaned in to kiss her. She turned her cheek to his lips at the last moment.

Unperturbed, he planted little, light kisses upon her cheek, and then left a trail of them down the dips, curves and hollows of her neck … and then up once again to her chin and, finally, to her mouth. This time, she let him take her lips with a sigh.

After a moment, she broke away.

"But the thing is-"

Neji rolled his eyes.

"We just spoke about this."

"The conversation we had was not nearly as long enough as I would have liked." Tenten smirked, and Neji wiped it off her face with a single kiss. Tenten laughed and tried to push him away, but he only pulled her into him so her head rested on his chest, her hands were firmly caught by his.

"I mean- you only broke my heart a month ago because you didn't tell me that you were going to get married, and you strung me along like an idiot. And don't try apologise-"

"Stop trying to kill the mood," Neji growled roughly against her skin, and kissed her again, the heat melting the last of Tenten's inhibitions and resolve.

His hands roamed across her skin as he kissed her, tracing intricate, nonsensical paths across the creamy expanse that was hidden beneath the ruffled hem of the green dress. It was all he had wanted to do since he had first seen her put it on.

Neji's hands tugged playfully- teasingly- at the top of the zipper while tickling her bared upper back lightly and Tenten growled, frustrated to no end. He was enjoying this pointless taunting!

Kissing her once again, Neji gently pushed her backwards into the wall, his fingers combing through her lustrous hair while his other hand moved to the loosening straps.

She broke away from him, an indignant spark lit in her eyes. She didn't realise her hair was (in Neji's opinion) sexily tousled to the sides, tendrils falling into her face, glittery snowflakes clinging valiantly to some strands. Her lips were swollen from the kisses he hadn't been able to control and all traces of lip gloss had vanished more than a few hours ago.

"What is that look supposed to mean?" Tenten demanded huffily.

"Nothing- I just think you're so incredibly beautiful … it's just too bad you still have those clothes on … because …" Neji whispered the rest of the words in her ear, and she blushed, and punched his shoulder playfully, pushing him into the wall.

"Pervert!" she said loudly, and Neji pulled her gently closer to him, stopping all of her words and thoughts with a simple, sweet kiss. He looked into her eyes for reassurance and their positions were suddenly reversed.

Neji's hands delicately but steadily removed the dress she'd been wearing, caressing the soft skin as the zipper smoothly came undone. Then, he gently guided her to the bed, and they somehow ended up on top of the covers, the dress falling from Neji's sure hands as he left soft, swift, worshipful butterfly kisses along the newly bared skin, and up to her mouth, where he confidently banished all of her fears with another kiss.

Getting used to the idea, and warming to it quickly, Tenten's hands found the buttons of Neji's charcoal grey shirt. With her nimble fingers, she began to unfasten them, one by one, knowing that she was driving Neji insane with anticipation.

Her fingers danced sensually across his heated skin, a polar opposite to the frenetic patterns he created upon her back.

Nibbling on her bottom lip, Neji acknowledged her hands with an approving growl, the low vibrations emitted from his chest spreading across hers. With a smile and a laugh, Tenten pushed him away, but he refused to let her go, pulling her back down on top of his stomach.

The garment fell from his finely sculpted shoulders in a graceful motion, Tenten now exploring the exposed planes of Neji's abdomen, her tongue tracing a gentle path around Neji's navel. She smiled devilishly as he gave into her ministrations, her hands moving to the waist band of his pants as her mouth explored the dips and curves of Neji's firm muscles.

Breathing, Neji found, became incredibly difficult when Tenten removed his pants- leaving him only in his black satin boxer shorts.

Deciding that it was certainly an appropriate time and place to show Tenten that her feelings were more than just reciprocated, Neji pinned her beneath him once more, his fingertips trailing against the smooth lace of her underwear as he kissed her, their breaths intermingling.

Her heart was pounding rapidly; all she could hear was the sweet, heady rush of blood through her body, and Neji's breaths that were as frenetic as hers. His hands traced nonsensical patterns up and down her thighs, and a tremor rippled across her skin- a chill wave despite the heat.

She gasped and tore her lips away.

"Are you okay?" he asked her worriedly.

Biting her lip, Tenten nodded, and Neji kissed her sweetly yet again. It seemed to work, and the kunoichi responded just as warmly as he.

Neji's fingers slid beneath the elastic that rested on the arc of her hip, sliding them inch by inch down her thighs as he kissed her intensely. When they, too, lay discarded upon the floor, Neji ran his fingertips up her thighs, slowly, skimming gently over smooth curve of her hip, past the straps of the white bra that she wore, up to her face, which he held lovingly as he kissed her passionately.

Tenten pulled away for a moment, searching his eyes. This was what they wanted; she knew that… what was holding them back?

"Neji…" Tenten bit her lip and looked away. Neji slid his forefinger beneath her chin and tilted her face so the only place she could look was into his eyes.

She saw her feelings confidently reflected within them; she saw the words she'd tried to say, and the answer he would have given her had she the courage to ask him. With a smile, that weight upon her shoulders vanished and he kissed her passionately.

Soon, there was nothing upon their skin except for those blissful sighs that were like music to Neji's ears; a caress as it danced down his back. They were vulnerable, physically, mentally and spiritually- everything was ripped away, and they rediscovered a quiet innocence that had been lost when they'd washed blood from their hands for the first, and most definitely not last, time.

Every kiss, sigh and word between them was cherished- and they were lost to the world, knowing only that other soul beside them.

----x----

Bathed in the afterglow of her high, Tenten smiled serenely as Neji pulled the bed sheets over them.

He held her within the lean circle of his arms, his lips resting against the middle of her forehead as her heart beat slowed, and soon, she felt no difference in her heart rate and Neji's. She felt so content, and so peaceful with this sole individual- this one person she knew she could be herself around, and not have to be guarded about anything at all – that she never wanted to leave.

Neji watched her as her eyes drifted shut, feeling utterly relaxed- the opposite of the effects the intense hypersensitivity had brought on- a delicious euphoria that had outdone the effects of adrenaline by far.

"Neji…" Tenten whispered, saying his name like another silken caress as it glided sensually down his back.

Neji's hand did not move from where he had placed it (on the small of her back) but he kissed her ear affectionately to show he was listening.

"Neji… can I stay the night?" she asked, completely ruining the entire atmosphere.

_She was stripped to the core- all because of this one __boy who had somehow stolen her heart at the age of twelve, and a young man who broken it at eighteen- a scant month ago…_

"I think that's a given, Tenten." Neji smirked.

With those words, Neji kissed her on the lips, gently, saying all the thoughts in her mind. She belonged to him, now- and he belonged only to her.

…_and had now returned everything a hundredfold._

Tiredly, his mind shut down as his fingers ran one last time, tracing the smooth curving line of her spine, smiling as she murmured intelligibly and shifted against his body, and he fell asleep, knowing only her scent and her heartbeat.

----x----

Sunlight streamed in from the skylight the next morning, and the shinobi stirred, unused to the light source. He peeked through lowered eyelashes, gazing down at the tranquilly sleeping woman in his arms; team mate, best friend- lover. The sunlight cast a warm glow upon her skin- bared to her hip- and he gently ran his hand up against her back, resting it protectively on the small of her back, the smooth tendrils of her hair gently caressing his fingertips. She murmured, and turned her head slightly, her lips grazing the skin of his inner arm.

Tenten felt incredibly at peace. It was the best she'd felt in a long time, actually, considering the fact that she could be a completely lousy morning person. The bed, pillows and blankets smelled so much of Neji, and she burrowed herself further into his smooth chest, sighing happily. He smelt nice in the morning, and it was even nicer… considering that they were both absolutely naked.

The kunoichi's body responded automatically to her memories of the previous night, an almost idiotic smile lighting up her face as she gazed upon her lover, propping herself up onto her elbow, her hair flowing back over her shoulder.

Tenten's senses were suddenly overwhelmed by everything around her- the smell of Neji's skin, the feel of cool, crisp sheets against her skin, the sight of a completely naked Neji in the morning, the taste of his kisses still lingering around her lips… a completely naked Neji?

Oh yes- Tenten could definitely get used to waking up like this in the morning; she thought as her mind drifted back to what had happened last night after they'd gotten home from Dusk…

Neji sighed as Tenten slid out from between the sheets, pulling on the charcoal grey shirt Neji had worn last night and wrapping it around her form.

Lacing his fingers behind his head, Neji sighed as she left the room.

"Tenten- come back to bed!" he called out.

Tenten sighed and stuck her head back into the bedroom.

"I'll be back in a minute."

Walking into the kitchen, Tenten poured herself a glass of water and sipped at it slowly as she stared out the window. When she'd finished her drink, she focused her eyes, and froze.

"Hiashi-sama?" Tenten asked timidly.

"Tenten," he replied pleasantly.

The kunoichi hastily wrapped the shirt tighter around her body.

"Um… so what are you doing here?"

"I would ask you the same question."

Biting her lip, Tenten blushed. It was more than self explanatory. Her hair was tangled and mussed from sleep. She was standing in Neji's kitchen, naked save for Neji's shirt. It seemed that Hiashi just wanted to hear her confirm his thoughts.

She cleared her throat before meeting his gaze levelly. "I stayed the night." She replied coolly. It was hard, keeping a straight face. It was even harder to keep a straight face while looking Hyuuga Hiashi in the eye. He seemed relatively pleased with her answer, thought she suspected he hadn't really listened.

"Well, I came to see Neji, and ask him if he still wanted the unit."

"I do."

Neji walked into the kitchen wearing shorts and a shirt.

"I see." Hiashi nodded.

"How is Hitomi?" Neji asked, purely out of courtesy.

"She's not very well, at the moment- but all she needs is time."

Silence fell, and Tenten twitched.

"Well, have a good afternoon." Hiashi said and left the apartment calmly, shutting the door behind him.

When he shut the door, Tenten waited a full ten seconds before releasing the breath she was holding.

"That was so embarrassing!" She said, hitting herself on the head.

Neji tugged gently on her arm, pulling her into the warmth of his chest, and kissed her languidly.

"Good morning," he whispered after they broke apart.

Tenten looked up and met Neji's eyes. Her fingers found their way to the skin on his smooth chest and she began to draw imaginary circles across the sculpted muscle. Her other hand rested upon his head, twining gently with the jet black strands of hair. A glittery speck fell from her fingers, and Tenten smiled.

"So I was thinking today…" Tenten said with some difficulty.

Neji sighed, cupping her cheek with his right hand, and used his other to detach her fingers from his hair and intertwine their fingers gently.

"If there was time…"

"Tenten?"

Tenten stopped talking.

"Hm?"

"You're rambling." Neji smirked. "And ask me later."

"Why?"

"Because you're only wearing my shirt."

"What has that got to do with anything?" Tenten asked, frowning.

She understood immediately after when he kissed her yet again, a hand wandering beneath the dark fabric of the shirt.

Oh yes, they both could definitely get used to seeing this in the morning.

**-The End-**

**Just another note: I would be eternally grateful if you'd take a look at the sidefic to this- it's called 'A Blossom With Reason' – you can access it by clicking on my name- and even more thankful if you'd review- so please go check it out! **


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